SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General what the turnover of staff, broken down by type was in each region in each year since the inception of the CPS.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 14 February 2002
	The available turnover figures are set out in table 1 and table 2.
	
		Table 1: Crown Prosecution Service—staff turnover -- Turnover rate
		
			  As at now 1 January 2002 1 April 2001 1 April 2000 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 3.6 3.6 13 
			 Bedfordshire 3.9 6.9 15.5 
			 Cambridgeshire 9.6 20.5 5.7 
			 Cheshire 5.7 7.9 8.2 
			 Cleveland 5.9 6.1 7.3 
			 Cumbria (1)— (1)— 8 
			 Derbyshire 12.4 8.3 5.3 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2.7 4.1 5.1 
			 Dorset 6 2.4 (1)— 
			 Durham 2.9 5.2 (1)— 
			 Dyfed Powys 5.5 (1)— 17 
			 Essex 7.4 3.1 11 
			 Gloucestershire 1.9 9.3 4.7 
			 Greater Manchester 7.4 6.7 10.5 
			 Gwent 1.3 (1)— 4.7 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 8.6 8.2 10.4 
			 Headquarters 6.4 10.6 12 
			 Hertfordshire 11.7 12.1 11.6 
			 Humberside 10.5 15.3 9 
			 Kent 5 9.6 6.1 
			 Lancashire 2.8 5.4 3.5 
			 Leicestershire 7.2 4.9 5 
			 Lincolnshire 4.1 12.6 4.6 
			 London 8.4 12.9 11.6 
			 Merseyside 5.7 4.1 3.2 
			 Norfolk 8.7 7 6.9 
			 North Wales 14.8 8.2 3 
			 North Yorkshire 8.4 7 9.9 
			 Northamptonshire 1.8 7.9 2.1 
			 Northumbria 5.8 4.8 2.2 
			 Nottinghamshire 6.2 4.8 1.6 
			 South Wales 5.1 4.7 4.3 
			 South Yorks/Admin. 6.8 3.9 8 
			 Staffordshire 3.7 1 5.1 
			 Suffolk 1.4 5.9 2.1 
			 Surrey 8.5 12.1 7 
			 Sussex 4.4 5.2 13.1 
			 Thames Valley 9.9 8.4 17.9 
			 Warwickshire 9.8 10.1 12.6 
			 West Mercia 5.5 7.4 6.6 
			 West Midlands 6.5 5.1 9.8 
			 West Yorkshire 5.4 6.4 6.9 
			 Wiltshire 4 2.4 9.4 
		
	
	(1) Less than 1 per cent.
	
		Table 2: Crown Prosecution Service—staff turnover -- Turnover rate
		
			  31 March 1999 1 April 1998 1 April 1997 1 April 1996 1 April 1995 1 April 1994 
		
		
			 Headquarters 7.4 22.7 7.5 0.7 1.3 0.8 
			 Anglia 9.7 8.8 0.6 0.9 0.2 1.0 
			 East Midlands 4.9 6.5 0.8 0.6 (2)— 0.6 
			 Humber 6.8 9.4 1.1 1.1 1.4 0.8 
			 London 10.6 11.6 1.6 0.6 0.9 0.4 
			 Mersey/Lancs 6.8 6.7 0.7 (2)— 0.3 (2)— 
			 Midlands 7.5 11.6 1.8 0.8 0.2 0.3 
			 North 5.0 2.6 0.6 (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 North West 7.9 6.5 2.4 0.5 0.3 0.3 
			 Severn Thames 9.4 15.2 2.2 0.3 0.8 0.9 
			 South East 8.5 15.3 1.1 0.5 0.4 0.5 
			 South West 8.4 7.6 0.7 0.3 1.4 0.4 
			 Wales 3.4 5.8 1.9 0.4 0.4 0.3 
			 Yorkshire 9.0 8.7 1.3 0.7 1.0 (2)— 
		
	
	(2) Less than 1 per cent.

Crown Prosecution Service

Dari Taylor: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps are being taken to assess the feasibility of implementing the recommendation made by Sir Robin Auld that the Crown Prosecution Service should take over from the police responsibility for charging defendants at the outset of a prosecution.

Harriet Harman: The Attorney-General has agreed with the Home Secretary that the Crown Prosecution Service and police should pilot the proposals over a period of six months in five different areas: in Bath, the Medway area, Essex, the Wrexham area and in Halifax. The objective of the pilot is to identify the practical implications of implementing Sir Robin's recommendation that the Crown Prosecution Service should determine the charge in all but minor, routine offences or where, because of the circumstances, there is a need for a holding charge before seeking the advice of the Service. Where there may be practical difficulties, the pilot will seek to identify how these can best be overcome. The Crown Prosecution Service and ACPO have been working closely together to set up the pilot which commenced on 18 February 2002. An evaluation report will be produced in autumn 2002.
	Further details of the pilot are contained in a background note, copies of which I have caused to be put in the Libraries of both Houses.

Crown Prosecution Service

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General what budget was allocated to each CPS region; and how much of the annual budget was allocated to training, in actual terms and as a percentage of the total budget in each year since its inception.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 14 February 2002
	The table shows the non-ring-fenced running cost(NRFRC) budget allocated to each Area, the amount of this budget locally allocated by each Area to fund training courses in actual terms and then as a percentage of the NRFRC budget.
	The figures are shown for each year since the establishment of a 42 Area structure in the CPS. They exclude the costs of trainee time attending courses and the associated travel and subsistence costs. These are not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	
		Analysis of training budget against non ring fenced running cost budget allocations to areas
		
			   1999–2000  2000–01  2001–02  
			 Area NRFRC Training Percentage NRFRC Training Percentage NRFRC Training Percentage 
		
		
			 01 Avon and Somerset 3,460,000 20,520 0.59 3,782,397 6,500 0.17 4,426,805 16,500 0.37 
			 02 Bedfordshire 1,464,000 7,000 0.48 1,521,180 10,000 0.66 1,753,584 6,200 0.35 
			 03 Cambridgeshire 1,849,000 7,000 0.38 1,912,600 4,870 0.25 2,363,320 23,000 0.97 
			 04 Cheshire 2,859,025 20,000 0.70 2,911,600 8,806 0.30 3,576,900 20,000 0.56 
			 06 Cleveland 2,046,000 5,000 0.24 2,132,350 1,000 0.05 2,572,056 3,500 0.14 
			 07 Cumbria 1,787,600 6,000 0.34 1,785,500 5,000 0.28 2,056,160 9,000 0.44 
			 08 Derbyshire 2,447,663 13,000 0.53 2,578,450 8,555 0.33 3,136,018 26,800 0.85 
			 09 Devon and Cornwall 3,266,665 17,900 0.55 3,444,300 9,050 0.26 3,964,709 21,725 0.55 
			 10 Dorset 1,442,000 10,035 0.70 1,502,780 2,000 0.13 1,811,252 10,400 0.57 
			 11 Durham 1,794,000 9,000 0.50 1,976,204 12,000 0.61 2,302,056 13,000 0.56 
			 12 Dyfed Powys 1,619,000 8,000 0.49 1,728,500 11,800 0.68 1,973,107 11,250 0.57 
			 13 Essex 3,362,495 3,000 0.09 3,420,800 15,250 0.45 4,100,900 13,750 0.34 
			 14 Gloucestershire 1,380,000 10,000 0.72 1,425,418 5,000 0.35 1,624,686 17,800 1.10 
			 15 Greater Manchester 9,415,075 20,000 0.21 9,752,500 19,706 0.20 11,293,480 40,378 0.36 
			 16 Gwent 1,967,112 19,803 1.01 2,062,500 23,200 1.12 2,483,882 20,100 0.81 
			 17 Hampshire 4,324,158 7,992 0.18 4,831,235 9,000 0.19 5,692,740 20,544 0.36 
			 18 Hertfordshire 2,007,729 5,000 0.25 2,209,060 2,000 0.09 2,731,565 6,700 0.25 
			 19 Humberside 2,463,000 17,738 0.72 2,508,000 8,763 0.35 2,808,450 12,716 0.45 
			 20 Kent 3,943,894 15,444 0.39 4,237,750 6,564 0.15 5,016,453 33,115 0.66 
			 21 Lancashire 5,261,511 20,000 0.38 5,439,141 28,000 0.51 6,323,380 50,000 0.79 
			 22 Leicestershire 2,415,070 11,070 0.46 2,544,600 3,227 0.13 3,085,080 10,900 0.35 
			 23 Lincolnshire 1,585,000 13,085 0.83 1,643,960 17,560 1.07 1,832,528 15,936 0.87 
			 24 Merseyside 5,675,323 4,200 0.07 5,977,367 20,000 0.33 6,957,480 66,000 0.95 
			 25 Metropolitan and City 27,787,531 116,000 0.42 28,585,703 130,000 0.45 34,940,980 160,000 0.46 
			 26 Norfolk 1,876,000 8,000 0.43 2,008,210 4,600 0.23 2,407,060 5,000 0.21 
			 27 Northamptonshire 1,576,430 9,600 0.61 1,710,025 30,050 1.76 1,998,580 52,100 2.61 
			 28 Northumbria 5,430,400 17,000 0.31 5,762,178 16,715 0.29 6,929,696 87,500 1.26 
			 29 North Wales 2,140,400 9,000 0.42 2,132,872 4,500 0.21 2,361,101 5,677 0.24 
			 30 North Yorkshire 1,933,000 0 0.00 2,008,095 6,000 0.30 2,188,262 5,000 0.23 
			 31 Nottinghamshire 3,926,140 17,950 0.46 4,151,900 7,000 0.17 4,773,597 8,799 0.18 
			 32 South Wales 4,977,000 34,329 0.69 5,138,183 9,720 0.19 5,961,745 36,917 0.62 
			 33 South Yorkshire 3,746,000 7,557 0.20 4,004,200 6,000 0.15 4,687,606 8,782 0.19 
			 34 Staffordshire 2,983,400 10,000 0.34 3,129,200 8,500 0.27 3,569,740 15,500 0.43 
			 35 Suffolk 1,530,000 2,000 0.13 1,698,422 0 0.00 2,069,760 4,800 0.23 
			 36 Surrey 1,861,421 21,367 1.15 1,827,633 19,468 1.07 2,130,113 6,900 0.32 
			 37 Sussex 3,203,300 44,172 1.38 3,306,661 5,616 0.17 3,872,722 33,012 0.85 
			 38 Thames Valley 4,452,580 31,174 0.70 4,706,700 22,100 0.47 5,229,848 25,000 0.48 
			 39 Warwickshire 1,003,000 2,400 0.24 1,041,400 3,319 0.32 1,144,080 500 0.04 
			 40 West Mercia 2,737,116 13,730 0.50 2,831,352 4,700 0.17 3,171,313 13,000 0.41 
			 41 West Midlands 8,835,565 46,800 0.53 9,770,500 54,500 0.56 11,360,398 38,100 0.34 
			 42 West Yorkshire 7,315,000 57,500 0.79 7,809,185 31,419 0.40 9,159,749 54,900 0.60 
			 43 Wiltshire 1,365,000 9,247 0.68 1,405,600 7,800 0.55 1,570,400 3,160 0.20 
			 Total 156,514,603 728,613 0.47 164,356,211 609,858 0.37 193,413,341 1,033,961 0.53

Crown Prosecution Service

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General what progress has been made in respect of Cm 3960, Summary of the report, paragraph 26, concerning the shift in CPS priorities from involvement in relatively minor cases to serious crime cases in the Crown Court.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 14 February 2002
	The CPS is making steady progress implementing changes to deliver the reforms recommended by Sir Iain Glidewell in his review of the CPS to bring about better justice.
	The CPS has been restructuring its front-line operation, working more closely with the police in the preparation of magistrates and Crown Court cases, by establishing co-located criminal justice units and trial units, which focus resources towards the more serious cases and better support for victims and witnesses. By the end of March 2002, the CPS will have 51 dedicated trial units in place across 29 areas, focusing efforts on Crown Court cases. These structural changes are enabling early legal advice before charge, to ensure that prosecutions are built on secure ground. The CPS and police are currently piloting the recommendations of Sir Robin Auld that the CPS should take over responsibility from the police for determining the charge from the outset of the case.
	More Crown Prosecutors are benefiting from greater exposure to Crown Court proceedings and their skills, experience and expertise in dealing with the more serious cases are being developed. The CPS is presently training 100 Crown Prosecutors annually to secure accreditation as Higher Court Advocates with full rights of audience to appear in the Crown Court on a more regular basis. They have gained positive feedback from the judiciary.
	To support Crown Prosecutors, a modern IT infrastructure has been deployed providing a suite of up-to-date electronic legal reference products and a new electronic case management application is planned for 2003. More lawyers, caseworkers and administrative staff have been recruited in the last 12 months, from resources provided by the last spending review.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Criminal Justice Reports

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to publish draft legislation covering the recommendations of the (a) Halliday and (b) Auld reports and the results of the subsequent consultations.

Keith Bradley: holding answer 5 March 2002
	Responses to the public consultation exercise on John Halliday's report "Making Punishments Work" were published on 4 February 2002. Those to Lord Justice Auld's report on the Criminal Courts have been made available on the Criminal Courts Review website.
	The Government are currently considering the recommendations of both reports in the light of those responses, with the intention of setting out its position in a White Paper later this year. Until the legislative programme for next Session has been finalised, it is not clear when there will be an appropriate opportunity to publish legislation in draft.

Miscarriages of Justice

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the departmental report on the aftercare treatment of victims of miscarriages of justice.

Keith Bradley: holding answer 5 March 2002
	The report of the independent study has contributed useful material for further development of proposals but it does not stand alone, and was an internal document not designed for wider circulation.

Miscarriages of Justice

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the central unit for the advice for victims of miscarriages of justice.

Keith Bradley: holding answer 5 March 2002
	The Home Office has established a working group that is considering how best to provide an advice and information service for wrongfully convicted prisoners. Proposals will come forward from the working group shortly but, as yet, no decisions have been taken.

Taliban/Al-Qaeda

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any persons believed to have fought in Taliban or Al-Qaeda forces are known to have returned to the UK; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: holding answer 4 March 2002
	No such persons are known to have returned to the United Kingdom to date.

Gun Licences

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many gun licences, and for which type of weapon, are held (a) in the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency, (b) in the Teesside area, (c) in each police force area and (d) in the UK.

Bob Ainsworth: The Home Office collects numbers of firearm and shotgun certificates for each police force area in England and Wales. The numbers of certificates, and weapons held on those certificates, are given in the table.
	Firearm certificates cover a range of weapons. From incomplete returns, about 73 per cent. of the weapons held under 'firearms' certificates are rifles, with the remainder including section one shotguns and those handguns that remain legal, such as muzzle loading handguns and humane killers.
	Information relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.
	
		Certificates on issue at 31 December 2000, and weapons covered
		
			  Police force area  Firearm certificates Firearms covered by certificates  Shotgun certificates Shotguns covered by certificates 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 4,812 12,064 21,230 47,570 
			 Bedfordshire 1,323 3,305 6,908 14,920 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,531 5,598 14,238 32,060 
			 Cheshire 2,412 5,525 12,688 27,797 
			 Cleveland 774 1,760 2,503 5,159 
			 Cumbria 3,059 6,478 10,427 21,360 
			 Derbyshire 2,441 5,777 12,237 28,855 
			 Devon and Cornwall 8,171 15,181 34,291 72,516 
			 Dorset 2,682 5,507 10,919 24,241 
			 Durham 2,095 4,795 6,348 12,845 
			 Essex 3,957 10,565 21,291 46,638 
			 Gloucestershire 2,337 5,436 11,591 25,243 
			 Greater Manchester 2,013 4,992 9,067 20,039 
			 Hampshire 4,419 11,440 21,196 48,485 
			 Hertfordshire 1,859 4,866 10,754 24,552 
			 Humberside 2,607 4,938 10,352 25,079 
			 Kent 3,730 (3)9,213 21,731 (3)45,417 
			 Lancashire 2,493 6,233 (4)12,054 27,223 
			 Leicestershire 1,704 3,614 11,109 27,244 
			 Lincolnshire 3,426 7,619 16,100 39,263 
			 London, City of 32 228 38 74 
			 Merseyside 1,091 2,735 4,027 7,778 
			 Metropolitan police 5,399 14,265 28,139 55,099 
			 Norfolk 3,414 9,076 21,144 53,405 
			 Northamptonshire 2,156 5,411 9,547 21,619 
			 Northumbria 3,396 7,550 9,285 20,662 
			 North Yorkshire 5,434 11,310 18,760 38,114 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,633 4,863 9,299 22,567 
			 South Yorkshire 1,566 3,705 8,198 16,602 
			 Staffordshire 2,291 5,885 14,256 31,627 
			 Suffolk 3,505 6,493 17,591 40,946 
			 Surrey 2,710 8,245 13,083 28,297 
			 Sussex 5,443 15,052 22,008 47,962 
			 Thames Valley 6,229 16,794 28,902 65,095 
			 Warwickshire 1,710 4,183 9,069 19,473 
			 West Mercia 5,497 13,369 30,311 65,654 
			 West Midlands 1,703 4,651 9,998 21,043 
			 West Yorkshire 2,583 6,182 10,993 23,009 
			 Wiltshire 2,633 6,341 12,096 27,762 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3,047 4,855 18,689 35,606 
			 Gwent 940 2,481 6,884 14,510 
			 North Wales 2,326 (3)4,018 13,834 (3)28,083 
			 South Wales 1,780 4,251 9,348 19,390 
			 All forces 125,363 296,849 (4)602,533 1,320,883 
		
	
	(3) Estimate
	(4) Revised since earlier publication

Immigration Act Detainees

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Immigration Act 1988 detainees are held in prisons in England and Wales.

Angela Eagle: The latest available information on the number of persons detained under Immigration Act 1988 powers relates to 29 December 2001. The number of detainees held in prisons in England and Wales is given in the table.
	
		Immigration Act detainees as at 29 December 2001(5)
		
			 Place of detention Number 
		
		
			 Dedicated Immigration Service wings(6) 330 
			 Other prison establishments(7) 335 
			  
			 Total(7) 665 
		
	
	(5) Figures rounded to the nearest five.
	(6) Persons detained at the dedicated Immigration Service wings at Haslar, Lindholme and Rochester
	(7) Includes 270 persons detained under dual immigration and other powers.
	The temporary use of spaces in a number of local prisons ended in mid-January 2002, as did the use of the accommodation at Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Rochester. In addition, the dedicated detention facilities at HMP Haslar and HMP Lindholme were redesignated formally as immigration removal centres on 8 February 2002, thus requiring them to operate under Detention Centre Rules rather than Prison Rules. These changes will be reflected in the quarterly asylum statistics which will be published on 31 May 2002 on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

DEFENCE

Defence Evaluation and Research Agency

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the public-private partnership for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency.

Lewis Moonie: I refer my hon. Friend to the announcement my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence made in the House on 24 July 2000, Official Report, columns 77–79 about our decision to implement the Core Competence model for the DERA public-private partnership. Under this approach, on 1 July 2001 around three-quarters of the former DERA organisation was vested with its assets as QinetiQ, a wholly Government owned company. For strategic reasons, the remainder was retained within Ministry of Defence as the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory to carry out functions that could not appropriately be transferred to the private sector.
	Since the vesting of QinetiQ as a company on 1 July 2001, work has concentrated on preparing the company for sale, options for which were through a flotation or strategic partnership. We have now completed a comprehensive review of the available options for the transaction route and timing in conjunction with specialist advisers and QinetiQ's senior management. Although flotation has always been our preferred route, as we have consistently stated, the priority is to achieve a successful move into the private sector with a transaction that clearly achieves best value for the taxpayer. We believe that a flotation under current market conditions would not realise this, yet delay could lead to a damaging loss of momentum. We have, therefore, decided that the strategic partner route offers the best potential for a transaction within 2002, offers value to the taxpayer and meets our objective of a successful public-private partnership.
	A strategic partner would work closely with QinetiQ and contribute significantly to growing the overall value of its business, from which the taxpayer would benefit through MOD's initial retention of a significant financial interest in the company. MOD will also retain a special share as a means of protecting UK defence and security interests.
	Confidential discussions with potential strategic partners will now begin, and it is expected that a preferred partner will be selected, and agreements signed, later this year.

Departmental Leave Entitlements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the average annual leave entitlement of staff in his Department in each of the last four years.

Lewis Moonie: Within the Ministry of Defence there exist slight differences in annual leave entitlements between members of the Senior Civil Service, non-industrial staff and industrial staff.
	Over the whole period, Senior Civil Servants have received the maximum 30 days on entry, whereas non- industrial staff have received 25 days on entry and then the maximum 30 days after 10 years' reckonable service.
	Industrial staff are divided into two categories, those at Industrial Technician level and those below. In 1998, Industrial Technicians received 26 days on entry, 28 after five years' reckonable service and 29 days after 10 years' reckonable service. In 1999, the maximum entitlement was increased to 30 days after 10 years' reckonable service. Other industrial staff received 24.5 days on entry in 1998, which was increased to 25 days in 1999. In 1998, they received and still do, 26.5 days after five years' reckonable service. In addition, the maximum entitlement, awarded after 10 years' reckonable service, has been increased annually from 27 days in 1998 to 30 days in 2001.

Departmental Expenditure

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list his Department's total expenditure by month in each financial year since 1997–98.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary on 4 February 2002, Official Report, column 692W.

Private Medical Insurance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies have had private medical insurance provided for them in each year since 1997–98; what the total cost is; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 6 February 2002
	The Civil Service Management Code specifically precludes the provision of private medical insurance as part of any structured remuneration package. Consequently, private medical insurance is not a feature of Ministry of Defence civil service employment. The employees of MOD's non-departmental public bodies are not civil servants although, in practice, their terms and conditions are partially modelled on civil service lines. One of the MOD's non-departmental public bodies—the Oil and Pipelines Agency—does offer private medical insurance to its employees. The numbers of annual costs since 1997–98 are as follows:
	
		
			 Year Number of employees Cost pa (£000) 
		
		
			 1997–98 (8)10 4.4 
			 1998–99 7 5.0 
			 1999–2000 8 5.9 
			 2000–01 8 5.0 
			 2001–02 5 6.2 
		
	
	(8) Estimate
	The number of staff taking up the option of private medical insurance has diminished over the years because it constitutes a taxable benefit, which many find increasingly unattractive.

Departmental Website

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost of his Department's website was in real terms in each of the last four years; and how many hits it received in each of those years.

Lewis Moonie: Direct costs for the Ministry of Defence's departmental website http://www.mod.uk are recorded for expenditure on contractual support—web design, maintenance and hosting—and staff costs for the central MOD website team. Total costs for the four-year period from April 1998 to April 2002 are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
		
		
			 1998–99 54,000 
			 1999–2000 100,000 
			 2000–01 153,000 
			 2001–02 202,000 
		
	
	Usage of the MOD website began to be measured on a monthly basis in December 1997. The figures for 2000–01 are rounded extrapolations based on data recorded between June 2000-December 2001. Hits for the four-year period from December 1997 to December 2001 are as follows:
	
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 December 1997-December 1998 4,576,859 
			 December 1998-December 1999 18,195,760 
			 December 1999-December 2000 20,700,000 
			 December 2000-December 2001 26,200,000

Union Duties

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff in his Department, agencies and non- departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in each of the last four years.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence does not record paid time off for trade union duties by days but by percentage of their overall work time. The following table shows the number of employees who are allowed paid time off for trade union activities, the percentage of their time allowed and the cost for each of the past four years.
	
		Numbers of TU representatives -- pecentage
		
			   0–10 11–49 50–99 100 Total Cost (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98   
			 Industrial 478 64 11 21 574 788,576 
			 Non-industrial 722 113 13 37 885 1,858,958 
			
			 1998–99   
			 Industrial 455 66 12 19 552 920,671 
			 Non-industrial 824 105 17 35 981 2,265,064 
			
			 1999–2000   
			 Industrial 426 71 16 24 538 1,228,087 
			 Non-industrial 758 108 27 34 927 2,037,451 
			
			 2000–01   
			 Industrial 360 89 17 21 487 1,123,993 
			 Non-industrial 700 106 21 36 863 2,181,641 
		
	
	We do not collect the information for trade union representatives in the Service Museums which are non- departmental public bodies.

Building Works

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of new builds, demolitions, rebuilds and PFI projects in his Department in each of the last 10 years.

Lewis Moonie: Information available on the cost of new builds is contained in UK Defence Statistics 2001 (Table 1.8 page 18). Information on demolitions and rebuilds could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Gender Free Physical Training

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many women have been injured as a result of gender free physical training;
	(2)  how many claims for compensation have been received from female recruits injured during gender free physical testing;
	(3)  how many person-days have been lost as a result of injuries sustained in gender free physical training;
	(4)  what has been the cost of treating women injured as a result of gender free physical training.

Adam Ingram: Numbers of women injured since 1 April 1998, when "Gender Free" testing and training was introduced have not been separately identified. Gender distributions have been monitored on the basis of medical discharges rather than on individual injuries received. For completeness, however, the following table shows the numbers of individuals attending a general practitioner at the various Army Training Regiments (ATRs) recorded as having injuries due to training or with other injuries or disease that could be related to training. The data cover both male and female trainees and trainers alike (although the vast majority are trainees) and is expressed as a rate per 1,000 per month:
	
		
			 Reason 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 Injuries due to military training 204.74 188.05 120.70 
			 Musculo-skeletal diseases 74.48 70.70 63.79 
			 Knee disorders 47.41 50.34 47.28 
		
	
	In 1999–2000, the combined rate for female medical discharges due to injury for all Phase 1 training establishments was 4.8 per cent., when the female to male ratio of injuries among trainees was 6:1. In the following year, this combined rate dropped to 3.5 per cent. and the ratio also fell to 3.5:1. This reduction was attributable, at least in part, to changes introduced into the selection and initial training regime, as a result of the recognised higher rate of female injury in the training system.
	Similarly, the number of person-days lost as a result of injuries sustained directly as a result of gender free testing and training cannot be easily identified. The following table shows the number of working days lost as a result of injuries due to training or with other injuries or disease that could be related to training injuries and is again expressed as a rate per 1,000 personnel per month at the ATRs:
	
		
			 Reason 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 Injuries due to military training 207.55 211.06 165.23 
			 Musculo-skeletal diseases 108.21 97.79 92.43 
			 Knee disorders 62.80 67.73 63.93 
		
	
	With regard to compensation claims, the Ministry of Defence does not record separately those cases brought against the Department by female recruits injured during gender free physical training. Again, the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Costs associated specifically with treating women injured as a result of gender free physical training cannot be readily identified. The Army training authorities are constantly working to reduce the numbers of individuals injured in training and therefore the costs associated with this, both in actual treatment costs and in respect of the number of training days lost.

Deployments

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the mission types for British Forces.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 28 February 2002
	The broad missions we have identified for the armed forces, as set out in paragraph 29 of Defence Policy 2001, published in February last year, are:
	Peacetime Security
	To provide forces needed in peacetime to ensure the protection and security of the United Kingdom, to assist as required with the evacuation of British nationals overseas, and to afford military aid to the civil authorities in the United Kingdom, including military aid to the civil power, military aid to other Government Departments and military aid to the civil community.
	Security of the Overseas Territories
	To provide forces to meet any challenges to the external security of a British Overseas Territories (including overseas possessions and the sovereign base areas) or to assist the civil authorities in meeting a challenge to internal security.
	Defence Diplomacy
	To provide forces to meet the varied activities undertaken by the Ministry of Defence to dispel hostility, build and maintain trust, and assist in the development of democratically accountable armed forces (thereby making a significant contribution to conflict prevention and resolution).
	Support to Wider British Interests
	To provide forces to conduct activities to promote British interests, influence and standing abroad.
	Peace Support and Humanitarian Assistance Operations
	To contribute forces to operations designed to prevent, contain and resolve conflict, in support of international order and humanitarian principles, and to contribute to efforts to deal with humanitarian crises and disasters.
	Regional Conflict and Crisis
	To contribute forces for a regional conflict (but not an attack on NATO or one of its members) which, if unchecked, could adversely affect European security or which could pose a serious threat to British interests elsewhere, or to international security. Operations are likely to be carried out under the auspices of the UN or relevant regional security organisations.
	Regional Aggression against NATO
	To provide forces needed to respond to a regional crisis or conflict involving a NATO ally which calls for assistance under Article 5 of the Washington treaty.
	Strategic Attack on NATO
	To provide, within the expected warning and readiness preparation times, the forces required to counter a strategic attack against NATO.
	These defence missions form a sound basis for planning, but they can be, and are, adjusted from time to time.

Deployments

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the exercises outside Europe undertaken by the British Armed Forces in 2001 and the unit which took part.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 28 February 2002
	The exercises that UK Armed Forces took part in outside Europe are listed in the table:
	
		
			 Exercise Location Unit 
		
		
			 Atlantic Drive Ascension 64 CRE 
			 Turtle Heritage Ascension CVHQ RE 
			 Turtle Truss Ascension 71 Engr Regt 
			 Longlook Australia Tri-Service Individuals 
			 Suman Warrior Australia 1 D and D 
			 Initial Link Bahrain E3D 
			 Cygnet Goose Belize 30 Sig Regt 
			 Native Trail Belize 1 RWF 
			 Native Trail Belize 7 RHA 
			 Panther Cub Belize 1 RGBW 
			 Panther Cub Belize 1 D and D 
			 Panther Cub Belize 1 D and D 
			 Panther Cub Belize 2 Para 
			 Panther Cub Belize 2 Para 
			 Panther Cub Belize 2 Para 
			 Sailfish Belize 36 Engr Regt 
			 Thirsty Panther Belize 521 Stre 
			 Diamond Cutter Botswana 1 R Irish 
			 Ulu Rajah Brunei Cast North 
			 Bass Rock Canada 22 Regt RA 
			 Cross Check Canada C130 
			 Fingals Cave Canada KCR 
			 Maple Flag Canada 10 x JAG, 9 x F3, VC10 
			 Maple Flag Canada 10 x JAG, 9 x F3, VC10 
			 Medicine Man Canada 1 Staffords 
			 Medicine Man Canada 1G 
			 Medicine Man Canada KRH 
			 Medicine Man Canada RDG 
			 Pond Jump West Canada 1 RGJ 
			 Pond Jump West Canada 1 WG 
			 Snow Shoe Canada Gren Gds 
			 Snow Shoe Canada Gren Gds 
			 Western Vortex Canada GR1 Sqns 
			 Western Vortex Canada GR1 Sqns 
			 Western Vortex Canada GR1 Sqns 
			 Western Vortex Canada GR1 Sqns 
			 Western Vortex Canada GR1 Sqns 
			 Western Vortex Canada GR1 Sqns 
			 Western Vortex Canada GR1 Sqns 
			 Western Vortex Canada GR1 Sqns, F3 Sqn 
			 Bell Buoy Chile NCS Org 
			 Bright Star Egypt PJHQ 
			 Cape Petrel Falklands CBFFI Forces 
			 Cape Petrel Falklands CBFFI Forces 
			 Falkland Sound Falklands 21 Sig Regt 
			 Kelp Drive Falklands 12(AS) Engr Bde 
			 Kelp Drive Falklands 12(AS) Engr Bde 
			 Kelp Drive Falklands 12(AS) Engr Bde 
			 Kelp Fire Falklands 12(AS) Engr Bde 
			 Purple Strike Falklands CBFFI Forces 
			 Purple Strike Falklands CBFFI Forces 
			 Sea Trout Falklands 29 Regt RA 
			 Red Stripe Jamaica 1 PWO 
			 Golden Sands Jordan 1 KORBR 
			 Saffron Sands Jordan 1 Cheshire 
			 Crab Apple Kenya 38 Engr Regt 
			 Grand Prix Kenya 1 LI 
			 Grand Prix Kenya 1 Para 
			 Grand Prix Kenya 1 RRF 
			 Mono Prix Kenya 1 RRW 
			 Oak Apple Kenya 35 Engr Regt 
			 Pine Apple Kenya 33 Engr Regt 
			 Sharp Point Kenya 5 GS Med Regt 
			 Lucky Sentinel Kuwait JFHQ, 1 BDE(-) 
			 Lads Adex Malaysia HMS Gloucester 
			 Stardex Malaysia HMS Gloucester, FDU, Nimrods 
			 Burning Bush Morocco Gib Regt 
			 Himalyan Bluebell Nepal 4 BN REME 
			 Pacific Kukri New Zealand 1 RGR 
			 Boron Mercury Oman JFHQ & SIGS Sqn 
			 Magic Carpet Oman Jaguar 
			 Magic Roundabout Oman Nimrod 
			 Magic Roundabout Oman Nimrod 
			 Magic Roundabout Oman Nimrod 
			 Rocky Lance Oman 1 PWO 
			 Saif Sareea 2 Oman 1(UK), ARMD Div, 1 Mech Bde, 4 Armd Bde, RDG, 4 Regt RA, 21 Engr Regt, 1 IG, 2 CS Regt RLC, 1 CS Med Regt, 1 BN REME, HMS Cornwall, HMS Monmouth, RFA Oakleaf, 11 Sqn RAF, 12 Sqn RAF, 617 Sqn RAF, No 1 ACC 
			 Saif Sareea Mapex Oman PJHQ, JFHQ 
			 Adventure Exchange Turkey AMF(L) Elements 
			 Anvil Ghost Turkey 1 RECCE Bde, 1 Arty Bde, 7 AD Bde, 29 Engr Regt, HQ CSSG, 3 Div 
			 UAE CPX UAE PJHQ, JFHQ 
			 UAE FTX UAE RM Coy 
			 Air Warrior USA GR7 
			 Blue Flag USA JFAC HQ 
			 Civil Bridge USA CA GRP 
			 Cope Thunder USA 9 x F3, VC10 
			 Cope Thunder USA 9 x F3, VC10 
			 Flying Rose USA 12 Engr Bde 
			 Flying Rose USA 12 Engr Bde 
			 Georgian Cormorant USA JSCSC 
			 Impact USA 58 FD Sqn 
			 Initial Look USA HQ JFAC 
			 JEFX USA JFACHQ 
			 JIATF USA Nimrod 
			 JIATF USA Nimrod 
			 JIATF USA Nimrod 
			 JRTC USA C130 
			 JTFEX USA GR4, FA2, SU 
			 JTFEX USA E3D, Nimrod 
			 JTFEX USA Nimrod 
			 Kernel Blitz USA FDG 
			 Leapfest USA ITC Catterick 
			 Red Flag USA GR4, F3, JAG, VC10 
			 Red Flag USA GR4, F3, JAG, VC10 
			 Red Flag USA C130, GR7 
			 Red Flag USA GR1/4 
			 Red Flag USA GR1/4 
			 Red Flag USA GR1/4 
			 RM COM GP EX USA RM COY 
			 Rum Punch USA Nimrod 
			 Sea Dragon USA RM COY 
			 Stonewall USA 42 CDO 
			 Stoneyrun/Millrace USA 3 Para 
			 Torpedo Focus USA GR 1 
			 Unified Endeavour USA JFAC HQ 
		
	
	Updated information indicates that British forces took part in 33 exercises (including one multinational exercise) in the USA in 2001 as listed in the table, compared with 29 unilateral and bilateral exercises identified in the answer I gave on 9 January 2002, Official Report, column 831W to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin).

Armed Forces Pensions

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to award armed forces pensions to those who served before 1975; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I have no plans to award armed forces pensions to those who served before 1975 and left before qualifying for benefits.
	Armed Service Pensions were awarded to those who served before 1975 but only to those who completed the necessary qualifying periods of 22 years (from age 18 for other ranks) and 16 years (from age 21 for Officers). Prior to 1975 there was no requirement for pension schemes to preserve benefits for those who left the scheme early. The Armed Forces Pension Scheme is not unique in this respect; the same provisions applied to all pension schemes both in the public and private sector. However, the qualifying periods for the Armed Forces Pension Scheme were less than for most other schemes at that time. In addition, those who left before qualifying for pensions, but had completed nine years (for Officers) 12 years (for other ranks), were paid a gratuity. The provisions were changed in 1975 to meet with the requirements of the Social Security Act 1975 but, in keeping with the policy of successive Governments, the provisions were not made retrospective.

Airships

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the potential for airships to contribute to (a) airborne early warning, (b) large cargo carrying, (c) surveillance operations, (d) anti-submarine warfare, (e) landmine removal and (f) naval minesweeping.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is monitoring developments in airships and hybrid air vehicle (HAV) technology, as we do other novel concepts. Recent military airship trials and assessments, in the context of a specific surveillance capability requirement, together with commercial progress in this area gives us confidence that the technology is sufficiently mature to contribute to meeting future capability requirements.
	Airships and HAVs have a number of generally common characteristics that need to be considered when assessing their suitability for particular roles. They are relatively cheap compared with manned winged or rotary aircraft; can loiter for sustained periods in suitable weather conditions; and are generally significantly larger and slower than other types of aircraft. Potentially, they could carry significantly more payload than a winged aircraft, although increases in lift capacity increase the overall size dramatically. Recent military trials and assessments have indicated that, while their size makes them relatively easy to visually identify and target, they are relatively difficult to target by other means, and difficult to destroy. Airships are generally expected to have less maintenance and infrastructure requirements than conventional air vehicles, and the challenges in manpower intensive ground handling have been largely overcome.
	For airborne early warning, which is one type of surveillance operation, the potential to loiter for long periods could be a useful characteristic, although the high speed winds at the altitudes required for large-area coverage can limit this ability. The high visibility of airships limit their suitability for some surveillance roles.
	For large cargo carrying, although slower than other aircraft types, the potential carrying capacity of future airships could be attractive, as demonstrated by the commercial interest in developing them in this field. However, we currently plan for the UK's future strategic and tactical airlift requirements to be met from 2010 by a combination of C130 Hercules and A400M aircraft, and have no current endorsed requirement for additional strategic lift.
	For anti-submarine warfare, airships and HAVs could in future provide a potent platform for maritime patrol, through, for example, monitoring dispersed sonar buoys. However, we have no additional endorsed requirement for maritime patrol for some time, given the procurement of the Nimrod MRA4 aircraft.
	Research has been conducted into the possibility of using airships for the detection of minefields. While this research is primarily intended for military use, the possibility of humanitarian mine-clearance has also been addressed. The ability to detect minefields from an airship remains a probability, but it is unlikely that such a system would be able to find all the individual mines, particularly anti-personnel mines, and a complementary land-based location and clearance system will still be needed.
	If HAVs that could land on water and use organic sonars or deploy unmanned underwater vehicles could be developed, their low sonar signature and relatively high speed compared with ships could be expected to have advantages for other types of anti-submarine warfare and naval minesweeping and hunting. Concept work is considering what contribution airships or HAVs might make to the solution for the Future Surface Combatant capability requirements, when the current frigate classes leave service. It is likely that concept work for future minesweeping/hunting requirements will consider what contribution these technologies might offer.

Airships

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the operational status is of the Skyship 6000 Airship ZH762; and what plans there are for further RAF trials with airships.

Adam Ingram: Airship ZH762 was sold in 1998 following completion of trials for which it was purchased. There are currently no plans for any further RAF trials with airships.

War Graves Commission

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the grave sites the War Grave Commission maintains in Egypt; how much money is allocated to their upkeep; and how many are buried there, broken down by military personnel who fought in the (a) Suez Canal zone emergency 1951 to 1954 and (b) Suez crisis 1956.

Lewis Moonie: The graves sites maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Egypt are:
	Abbasiya Indian Cemetery
	Alamein Cremation Memorial
	Alexandra (Chatby) British Protestant Cemetery
	Alexandria (Chatby) Jewish Cemetery No.3
	Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery
	Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery
	Aswan Bandar British Cemetery
	Cairo New British Protestant Cemetery
	Cairo War Memorial Cemetery
	El Alamein War Cemetery
	Fayid War Cemetery
	Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery
	Heliopolis War Cemetery
	Ismailia War Memorial Cemetery
	Kantara War Memorial Cemetery
	Manara Indian Muhammadan Cemetery
	Moascar War Cemetery
	Old Cairo New Latin Cemetery
	Port Said British Protestant Cemetery
	Port Said Muhammadan Civil Cemetery
	Port Said War Memorial Cemetery
	Suez African and Indian Army War Cemetery
	Suez War Memorial Cemetery
	Tel El Kebir War Memorial Cemetery.
	The Commonwealth War Graves Commission does not keep financial records by country. However, they have advised that their approximate expenditure on maintaining graves in Egypt for 2001 was in the order of £600.000.
	The total number of graves in the twenty four cemeteries is 32,144. This figure includes world war graves, non-world war graves, service dependants, civilians and foreign nationals.
	Detailed figures for the two periods are not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Macedonia

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many members of the British Armed Forces are stationed in Macedonia; what activities they are involved in; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much longer he expects there to be a UK military presence in Macedonia; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: At any one time there are approximately 12 UK Armed Forces personnel working in Macedonia as part of the headquarters of NATO's Task Force Fox and in support of KFOR. Some may be allocated to both. So long as there is a requirement for these or successor forces provided by NATO, we expect to contribute a number of British Armed Forces personnel to them.
	In addition, three UK Armed Forces Personnel are providing advice to the Macedonian Ministry of Defence as part of a bilateral Outreach programme; we expect them to remain until the programme is complete.
	One UK Army officer has been seconded to the British Embassy in Skopje as Defence Attaché.

Afghanistan

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimates he has made as to the total extra cost to his Department in relation to Afghanistan in the financial year 2001–02; and from where these funds are being made available.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 February 2002, Official Report, columns 1133–34W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr. Foster). This sum has been made available from the reserve and the conflict prevention budget.

Secondments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff in his Department have been seconded to jobs in the (a) private and (b) public sector in each of the last four years.

Lewis Moonie: Secondments form a valuable part of the Ministry of Defence's Interchange programme, which promotes the exchange of individuals and best practice between the civil service and other sectors of the economy.
	The information requested is as shown.
	
		
			  Private sector Private sector (DESG)(9) Public 
		
		
			 1997–98 28 128 8 
			 1998–99 8 155 26 
			 1999–2000 22 130 16 
			 2000–01 13 104 6 
		
	
	(9) The MOD's Defence Engineering and Science Group (DESG) arranges industrial placements for graduate trainees and students in engineering and science disciplines. These short-term secondments are recorded separately to distinguish them from those longer-term secondments from the Department to the private sector.

Television Sets

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) integrated digital and (b) analogue television sets have been bought by his Department in each of the last 24 months; and if he will publish the guidance given to officials making decisions on television purchases.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 4 February 2002
	There is no central point within the Ministry of Defence that purchases televisions and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	As with the purchase of all of the Ministry of Defence's goods and services, the normal rules and principles of good public procurement apply. Budget holders must ensure that the purchase represents value for money and is supported by a sound business case.

Legal Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what legal costs have been incurred by his Department in each of the last four years.

Lewis Moonie: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Industrial Action

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many days have been lost owing to industrial action by staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each of the last four years.

Lewis Moonie: 771 man days were lost as a result of strike action in the Ministry of Defence, its agencies and non-departmental bodies in the past four years. This arose from an industrial dispute in July and August 2000 involving Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel who were members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers. Industrial action short of a strike is not recorded in terms of man days lost.

Strategic Lift Transport Ships

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the dates are for (a) lay-down, (b) launch and (c) delivery of each of the strategic lift transport ships.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 4 March 2002
	As announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 26 October 2001, Official Report, column 413–14W, the UK's future strategic sealift capability is due to be provided under a PFI contract between the Ministry of Defence and AWSR Shipping Ltd., to come into full effect from June 2003. The lay down, launch and delivery dates for the six vessels involved are as follows:
	
		
			  Keel lay Launch Delivery to AWSR 
		
		
			 1st vessel—Hurst Point 21 January 2002 19 April 2002 16 August 2002 
			 2nd vessel—Hartland Point 8 October 2001 11 April 2002 21 October 2002 
			 3rd vessel—Eddystone 22 April 2002 16 August 2002 1 November 2002 
			 4th vessel—Anvil Point 1 March 2002 23 July 2002 21 January 2003 
			 5th vessel—Longstone 19 August 2002 8 November 2002 31 January 2003 
			 6th vessel—Beachy Head 31 January 2003 14 February 2003 30 April 2003

Airlift/Sealift Capability

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to improve the (a) airlift and (b) sealift capability of the Armed Forces; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: We have already improved our strategic airlift and sealift capabilities in the short term, by leasing four C-17 aircraft, which provide a new outsized airlift capability, and by introducing the provisional strategic sealift service, so that there are now three rather than two ships available for this task. In the medium to longer term, we are in the process of procuring a PFI strategic sealift service (which will ensure that the MOD can call upon six roll on/roll off vessels when required, with four permanently available), and 25 A400M aircraft.

Departmental Expenditure Limit

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what projects are being scaled back as a result of the transfer from capital to resource DEL announced in the supplementary estimates 2001–02; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Budgetary allocations are regularly revised in year to reflect actual progress on capital projects as well as changing priorities and requirements. The transfer from capital to resource DEL is within the Treasury authorised flexibility for the current year. Even after the transfer, there has been an overall net increase to the Ministry of Defence's capital DEL since the main estimates published in April 2001.

Private Military Companies

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what private military companies have licences in Britain; what work they are involved in; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
	Private military companies based in the UK are not at present subject to a licensing regime in respect of the provision of military services. One of the options set out in the FCO's discussion paper "Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation", published on 12 February, is for the introduction of a licensing regime.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Reproductive Health Services

Christine Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to increase women's access to reproductive health services in Africa.

Hilary Benn: Increasing women's access to reproductive health services is a high priority in Africa, where women are affected by poverty, high maternal mortality and, increasingly, by HIV/AIDS. DFID is working with national Governments and other organisations to improve sexual and reproductive health. We invested £150 million on this last year, and expect to invest more this year.

West Africa

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's programme of development assistance to west Africa.

Clare Short: We maintain a substantial development programme to West Africa, and plan to spend around £130 million and contribute £37 million through the EC over the next three years. We provide further support through the World Bank, Africa Development Bank and UN system.

West Africa

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with her European counterparts regarding aid to west Africa.

Clare Short: I meet my European counterparts regularly, and discuss West African issues with them as appropriate. In particular I have encouraged other European countries to become more deeply engaged in Sierra Leone, both politically and financially. I travelled to Guinea and Sierra Leone with the French Development Minister last May.

Sudan

Hilton Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the prospects for peace, justice, improved human rights and development in Sudan.

Clare Short: I believe that 2002 offers a real window of opportunity to bring Africa's longest running conflict to an end. I am convinced that with greater international pressure on the main parties, Sudan can be helped towards a just and lasting peace. The human rights of the people of Sudan can be better protected with peace and a stable social and economic environment in place throughout the country. The same applies to the consideration of Sudan's longer-term development needs. Development partnerships will not be effective without peace and political stability.

Sudan

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to promote peace and development in Sudan.

Clare Short: We are working with the FCO, to increase the international effort to bring about peace in Sudan. Efforts have been stepped up following my visit to the country in January when I was able to discuss the prospects of peace with Sudanese leaders on both sides of the conflict.
	I believe the UK can play a significant role in helping resolve the conflict and that our involvement would be welcomed by both sides. The Prime Minister recently announced the appointment of a UK special Representative for Sudan who will be answerable jointly to myself and the Foreign Secretary and supported by a dedicated team drawn from both Departments. He is working closely with the US and Norway and we will maintain close liaison at official and ministerial level.
	Long-term development of Sudan cannot be achieved without an end to the war. My Department continues to address urgent humanitarian needs arising from conflict and drought and has provided over £40 million of humanitarian assistance since 1997. We are liaising closely with the World Bank and European Commission to try and ensure that their engagement reinforces the search for peace.

St. Helena

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the construction of an airfield on the island of St. Helena.

Clare Short: A "Comparative Study of Air and Sea Access" was published last July. A copy of the report was placed in the Library of the House. It identified options, which have since been under consideration by the St. Helena Government. As part of that process, the views of the islanders have been sought in a referendum. The outcome was a majority preference in favour of air access, as an alternative to replacing St. Helena's dedicated passenger and supply ship. Island representatives are currently visiting the UK to discuss next steps.

Replenishment Negotiations

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's priorities are for the International Development Association's 13th replenishment negotiations.

Clare Short: Our priority for the International Development Association's replenishment (IDA 13) negotiations is to build on the progress achieved under the last replenishment, particularly in consolidating a sharper poverty focus and embedding the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper process as the Lynchpin of the World Bank's engagement in low-income countries.
	The UK has indicated that it is prepared to increase substantially its contribution to IDA 13, depending upon the resolution of policy issues.
	The negotiations are still under way and are facing serious difficulties. We will report to the International Development Committee once the negotiations have been concluded.

Zimbabwe

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the future role of her Department's projects in Zimbabwe.

Clare Short: As I informed the House in April 2001, DFID withdrew from projects with the Zimbabwe Government relating to economic management because these could no longer meet their objectives. This has not impacted on levels of assistance to Zimbabwe, rather it has helped us give greater priority to humanitarian assistance and direct help for the poor.
	We have of course been preparing strategies for the post election situation and will work with others to provide support for any government committed to responsible reform. If there is no such government we will continue to provide humanitarian assistance.

New Partnership for African Development

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department is giving to the New Partnership for African Development.

Clare Short: We strongly support the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) because it is an African owned and led initiative. We are continuing to work within the international community to ensure an appropriate response, including through the G8, which is preparing an Action Plan for Africa to be presented at the Kananaskis Summit.
	We are working closely with the UN Economic Commission for Africa, which has been mandated by NEPAD to develop technical proposals on governance.

Child Poverty

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to combat child poverty in developing countries.

Clare Short: We seek to reduce the poverty of children, which causes suffering to today's children and jeopardises the well being of future generations, by working to address the causes of deprivation in their communities. Support for children's rights to basic health care, education, nutrition, shelter, protection from violence and abusive labour, along with sustainable livelihoods for their parents, is central to our work towards the millennium development goals.
	We are working to energise the international system to achieve the goals. The goals include the target of, by 2015, lifting one billion people out of abject poverty, universal primary schooling, and reducing under-five child mortality by two-thirds.

Senegal

James Plaskitt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what conclusions she has drawn from Senegal's fight against HIV/AIDS.

Clare Short: Senegal, like Uganda and Thailand has shown that political leadership to fighting the disease is a vital element in slowing the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. These countries have also demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of strategies which promote awareness and behaviour change through information, education and community mobilisation; prevent infection through condom promotion and treatment of sexually transmitted infections; and support and encourage voluntary counselling and testing.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's work in sub-Saharan Africa.

Clare Short: Sub-Saharan Africa suffers the deepest and most widespread poverty of any continent and faces the greatest challenges in meeting the Millennium Development Goals. We have significant programmes in many countries, supporting where possible nationally- owned poverty reduction strategies, both in particular sectors such as health or education, but also through direct support for national budgets. This country-level support is complemented by work at the regional and sub-regional level to help address cross-border issues such as conflict and trade. In 2000–01, total UK bilateral development assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa was £757 million, up from £445 million in 1996–97.

Afghanistan

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on progress on the reconstruction of the Afghan economy.

Clare Short: We continue to work with the Afghan Interim Administration (AU) to begin the reconstruction of Afghanistan, while continuing to support immediate humanitarian assistance and quick impact recovery and rehabilitation projects. The newly established Assistance Coordination Authority in Afghanistan will be the primary focal point for co-ordination with the AU. The United Nations Development Programme currently administers the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund for the payment of civil service salaries, to which DFID has contributed over £2 million. Later this year the World bank will establish a successor trust fund. We are also participating in missions led by the International Monetary Fund to assess what support could be provided to the Ministry of Finance and the Central bank. At the Tokyo Conference on the reconstruction of Afghanistan in January 2002, I pledged £200 million from DFID's budget over the next five years for both reconstruction and humanitarian assistance.

Afghanistan

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Clare Short: The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains fragile and significant needs will remain for some time to come in challenging and volatile operating conditions. Due to severe weather conditions and continuing security concerns in some areas of the country, there are still pockets of un-met need where vulnerable people cannot be reached. With our support, the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies continue to do what they can to overcome these obstacles and deliver life-saving assistance to those in need. Since October 2001, a record 250,000 tonnes of food aid have been distributed to over 6 million people.

Afghanistan

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the UN Economic and Social Council report "Discrimination against women and children in Afghanistan"; and if she will adopt its recommendations in respect of UK operations in Afghanistan.

Clare Short: We welcome the UN Economic and Social Council's report on discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan and support its recommendations.
	We recognise the need to build the capacity of Afghanistan's women to enable them to take full part in the reconstruction of their society, including the new Interim Administration, and to ensure that legal, constitutional and other provisions are not discriminatory against women. Our funding for support of Afghan women during the recovery and reconstruction of Afghanistan is being channelled through United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations who will work closely with the Interim Administration and who have expressed a commitment to involving Afghan women in the design and implementation of their strategies and programmes.
	To date this includes an allocation of $1 million to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) for a programme to support Afghan women's leadership through awareness raising, capacity building and mainstreaming of gender issues in development activities; $0.5 million to the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) for preliminary human rights assistance activities in Afghanistan; as well as local level, quick impact recovery projects supporting women. We are also in discussion with the Afghan Ministry for Women's Affairs on how we can provide support for its establishment and activities.

Corruption

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures her Department is taking to help developing countries combat corruption, with particular reference to the security sector.

Clare Short: Our partnerships with developing countries increasingly focus on the reduction of corruption through the establishment of Anti—corruption authorities and by the tightening of financial management and budget discipline, including reducing off-budget defence expenditure; the development of procurement systems designed to ensure thorough appraisal of value for money, transparency and probity; the strengthening of parliamentary oversight mechanisms; and acceptance of a role for civil society in such scrutiny. We are also increasing our focus on Security Sector reform and full democratic accountability and transparent management of this sector.

Medicines

Phil Hope: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what policies her Department is pursuing to increase access to medicines in developing countries.

Clare Short: We are committed to working with our developing country partners and other international organisations to address the four key factors which are recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as effecting access to medicines. These are sustainable financing, affordable pricing, reliable health and supply systems and the rational selection and use of existing drugs.
	On sustainable financing, we are supporting, with a commitment of $200 million from DFID's budget over five years, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which will help pay for increased coverage of proven interventions for three diseases and some associated health systems strengthening .
	The Working Group on Access to medicines, which I chair is working to bring about more affordable pricing. The UK is also supporting work undertaken by the WHO, World Trade Organisation and the European Commission on drug pricing.
	We have committed over £1 billion since 1997 to strengthening developing countries' health systems, building their capacity both to deliver medicines to the poor and to make effective choices about the selection and use of drugs.

Great Lakes Region

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the prospects for peace and long-term development in the Great Lakes region.

Clare Short: The vital element in achieving peace in the Great Lakes region is the full implementation of the Arusha and Lusaka Peace Accords. The Government continue to press all parties to these agreements to honour their commitments. I was encouraged from my recent visit to the Great Lakes that there is now a window of opportunity for achieving peace, provided the commitments expressed to us by Heads of Government are translated into real action on the ground and the international community and Security Council also focus on the full implementation of Lusaka. Key will be the successful implementation of MONUC deployment into eastern DRC, and a positive outcome to the Sun City talks currently underway. Progress in the peace process will enable the international community, finally, to concentrate on a partnership with governments in the region for the long-term development of their countries—an outcome keenly awaited and much needed by the long suffering population of the region.

Brazil

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the UK's aid contribution is for Brazil.

Clare Short: DFID's programme for Brazil supports the fight against poverty through promoting social inclusion, addressing inequality and fostering pro-poor, sustainable growth. The current programme is focused on reducing poverty through improved natural resource management, health and good governance, working with government, civil society and other donor partners.
	Our role, as in other Middle Income countries is to support more effective use of Brazil's resources and resources available from the EC and Development Banks for the reduction of poverty. The UK provided £7.5 million in 2001–02 for technical assistance and DFID provided approximately £2 million (in 2000) through the EC programme.

Sustainable Fishing

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to promote the development of a sustainable fishing policy in developing countries.

Clare Short: Fisheries make a vital contribution to the livelihoods and nutrition of poor people in developing countries. We are therefore pressing for improvements in international fisheries policies through the World Summit for Sustainable Development, through the review of the Common Fisheries Policy and through our contributions to the rural development and fisheries development strategies of the European Commission. More directly, we promote sustainable fisheries by helping West African countries implement the internationally agreed Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries which, if properly applied, can secure the health of fish resources and the livelihoods dependent on them.
	DFID also has an explicit objective of achieving coherence between the EU's fisheries and development cooperation policies, especially in the way in which fisheries agreements between Europe and developing countries are implemented. The transfer of excess European capacity through such agreements poses serious risks to fisheries in developing countries, many of whom do not have the necessary management capacity. DFID also funds research to clarify and highlight the impacts of these agreements and is pressing the EU/EC at all levels to introduce measures to safeguard both the short-and long-term interests of poor people in the countries concerned.

World Trade

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on helping developing countries increase their trade with developed countries.

Clare Short: The agreement reached at the Doha WTO Ministerial defining the work programme under the Doha development agenda provides an important potential source of gains to developing countries through international trade. To ensure these gains are realised will require support for continuous improvement of developing countries' capacity to implement and negotiate various elements of international trade agreements. The UK is committed to building capacity in developing countries to increase their gains from international trading arrangements. I recently announced a package of £20 million for trade related capacity building, of which a third will be used to assist developing countries with the new capacity needs arising from the Doha agenda.
	The UK is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that trade related technical assistance by all donors and multilateral agencies is provided within a coherent policy framework, so as to avoid duplication of effort and maximise impact.

Kenya

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on initiatives to support and promote the implementation of political reforms in Kenya.

Clare Short: The Kenyan Government have reappointed a Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) to make recommendations on how its constitution might be improved. The international community, including the UK, is supporting the work of the CRC and is also financing initiatives to promote civic education in Kenya. The UK and other donors are also helping to strengthen Parliament, including by building the capacity of Parliamentary committees to hold the executive to account.

Education

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department is taking to increase the availability of primary education in the poorest countries.

Clare Short: We are working hard to mobilise the international development system to focus more sharply on the delivery of the commitment to universal primary education by 2015. We have made clear in all forums our view that this goal can only be achieved if primary education is free. We are also working in 29 countries to support delivery of this policy and have since 1997 committed £650 million. We will do more.

Education

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what recent assessment she has made of the progress being made to achieving the targets set at the World Education Forum at Dakar.
	(2)  what progress is being made in achieving the goal set at the World Education Forum of free universal primary education by 2015.

Clare Short: There are widely different levels of progress against the millennium development goal of achieving universal primary education (UPE) by 2015. In sub-Saharan Africa an additional 88 million children will need to be enrolled in school between 1997 and 2015. This requires a threefold improvement in the rate of expansion achieved from 1990 to 1997. If the current rate of enrolment increase were to be maintained, fewer than half of the 43 countries would achieve even a gross enrolment rate of 100 per cent. by 2015 if this goal is to be achieved. Ten times the previous rate of increase will be needed in countries such as Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia and Somalia. In South and West Asia the rate of enrolment is less challenging; although the overall numbers of children out of school remains high. It is estimated that an additional 40 million children will need to be enrolled to achieve the UPE target and that this will require the same pace of enrolment increase that was achieved from 1990 to 1997.
	Achieving UPE can happen only through reform and action at the country level. But the wider international community, including bilateral and multilateral agencies, have responsibilities and roles in meeting the commitment of the Dakar Framework for Action that
	"no countries seriously committed to education for all will be thwarted in their achievement of this goal by a lack of resources". The international response to the Dakar commitment has been slow and has lacked effective co-ordination. At the Education for All High-Level Group meeting convened by UNESCO's Director-General in Paris last October, I presented DFID's paper "Children out of School" which identifies the different circumstances of children who are not in school and proposes an eight-point plan of action for accelerating progress towards the 2015 target.
	The Government give high priority to addressing this challenge. We believe that UPE can be achieved by 2015 if the lessons of the past are learned and if governments in developing countries put in place the right policies, and receive appropriate external assistance. We have committed over £650 million to support the development of primary education since 1997. We will do more.

Education

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the proportion of Britain's aid budget which is spent on health and education; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: Health and education are key priorities for the UK's development programme. As well as being fundamental human rights, better quality of and access to health and education are essential if poor people are to benefit from globalisation. Since May 1997, DFID has committed about £800 million to support education in developing countries and over £1 billion on strengthening developing countries' health systems to deliver the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed by UN Members. Support to health and education has increased steadily as a proportion of the total programme over this period.
	In addition to this bilateral support, and the assistance we are providing to health and education through general budgetary support, DFID provides significant support to wider international efforts to tackle the global health and education dimensions of poverty. For example, we are working to ensure that the international community meets the Dakar Framework commitment that "no countries seriously committed to education for all will be thwarted in the achievement of this goal by a lack of resources". The UK also provides significant support to multilateral agencies tackling the major diseases of poverty. We have taken an active role in establishing the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria (GFATM) and pledged US $200 million over five years.
	A full report of our work on health, education and the rest of our programme can be found in our Departmental Report (the 2002 edition will appear in April). In addition, my department's education strategy paper, "The Challenge of Universally Primary Education", sets out the UK's strategy for delivering the MDG of universal primary education by 2015. Similarly, the UK strategy paper "Better Health for Poor People" details our approach to tackling health issues as part of our wider strategy to eliminate poverty. Both of these papers are available on www.dfid.gov.uk.

Accountancy Contracts

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will publish the (a) number and (b) value of contracts awarded by her Department to (i) Arthur Andersen, (ii) Deloitte Touche, (ii) Ernst and Young, (iv) KPMG and (v) PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants in each year since 1997.

Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 896W.

Debt relief

Christine Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on debt cancellation for HIPC countries by multi- lateral financial institutions.

Clare Short: 25 countries have so far qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Ghana reached its Decision Point this week, and up to five more countries could be taken by the Boards of the IMF and world bank by the end of the year. Of the 25 countries, 21 have reached Decision Point and are receiving interim debt relief and four have completed the HIPC process, and are receiving full debt relief. We hope that a further five will reach their Completion Point in the next six months. Multilateral financial institutions account for some US$13.7 billion in net present value terms of the HIPC debt relief to these countries. The World Bank is co-ordinating this with the other multilateral financial institutions.

Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contributions have been made to the global fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, broken down by country.

Clare Short: Pledges to date amount to over US$1.9 billion. The Department for International Development has pledged £138 million (US$200 million) over five years. Contributions pledged to the GFATM listed by country can be found on the GFATM website at: http://www.globalfundatm.org/contribute.html.
	Governments are now beginning to fulfil their pledges. To date, initial contributions have been received from Italy (US$43.25 million), Belgium (US$4.9 million) and Switzerland (US$3 million). The UK is the process of disbursing its initial contribution of £25 million. Substantial contributions from others should follow shortly. The fund expects to have around US$750 million to disburse in its first year.

Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with the global fund for AIDS, TB and malaria concerning the aptitude of health systems to deliver programmes for the eradication of TB and malaria in developing countries.

Clare Short: My officials are involved in intensive ongoing discussions with the global fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria (GFATM). These discussions have included the issue of the capacity of health systems to deliver programmes for the eradication of TB and malaria in developing countries.
	The UK Government are strongly committed to health systems strengthening. We also believe that for GFATM to be effective it needs to focus largely on financing the purchase of drugs and commodities in order to add value to other international efforts.
	Broader systems strengthening and multi-sectoral work will continue to require substantial funds which should and will more appropriately come from elsewhere: bilateral and multilateral donors and domestic developing country resources.

Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her forecast spending is on the UN Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria for each of the next five years.

Clare Short: The Department for International Development has pledged £138 million to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria (GFATM) over five years, to be disbursed as follows.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2001–02 25 
			 2002–03 25 
			 2003–04 25 
			 2004–05 30 
			 2005–06 33 
		
	
	As the fund gets up and running, we will closely monitor its effectiveness and the value it adds to the international effort against the three diseases, and review our contributions accordingly.
	The Global Fund is an independent entity, which draws on the expertise of the UN specialised agencies and others. It is not a UN fund.

Capita

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many contracts the Department has with Capita; and how much they are worth.

Clare Short: We have one current contract with Capita RAS, to provide a recruitment service for Pillar IV of UNMIK Administration at a cost of £180,000.

Advertising

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the publicity and advertising campaigns run by her Department in each of the last four years, specifying the (a) purpose, (b) cost to public funds, (c) number of staff involved and (d) method of evaluation in each case.

Hilary Benn: DFID does not run publicity and advertising campaigns.

Deforestation

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations she has made to the Government of Brazil regarding the deforestation of the rain forests.

Clare Short: I have not made any direct representations to the Brazilian Government regarding deforestation.
	DFID's approach is to support Brazilian efforts to achieve sustainable development in the rain forest regions. Through our bilateral co-operation programme, including the G7 pilot programme to conserve the Brazilian rain forest, to which we have contributed £16 million to date, we aim to support sustainable development initiatives that respond to the development goals of Brazil and its people, particularly the poorest—and maintain environmental benefits. We do this through strengthening the capacity of Brazilian environment and development agencies, piloting new approaches to resource management and increasing knowledge and awareness of the issues.

Civil Servants

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will set out for each civil service grade within her (a) Department and (b) Department's executive agencies the (i) total number of staff employed, (ii) number aged (A) 16 to 25, (B) 26 to 35, (C) 36 to 45, (D) 46 to 60 and (E) over the age of 60 years, (iii) number of registered disabled and (iv) number of ethnic minorities.

Clare Short: The information requested is shown in the table and reflects the latest recorded position as at October 2001. Details by age grouping are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	DFID does not have responsibility for executive agencies.
	
		
			 Civil Service grade Number of staff Registered disabled(10) Ethnic minorities(11) 
		
		
			 Senior Civil Service 57 0 3 
			 Grade 6 128 2 0 
			 Grade 7 198 0 5 
			 Senior Executive Officer 102 0 3 
			 Higher Executive Officer 251 1 6 
			 Executive Officer 270 6 20 
			 Administrative Officer 318 10 38 
			 Administrative Assistant 104 3 8 
			  
			 Total 1,428 22 83 
		
	
	(10) Based on staff who have recorded a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
	(11) Based on information provided to date voluntarily by staff.

Bolivia

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what requests she has had from the Bolivian Government for help in relation to the floods in La Paz; and what action has been taken.

Clare Short: We have received representations from the Bolivian Government in the aftermath of the flooding, but there was no formal international appeal. We have made an immediate commitment of £10,000 through the British Embassy in La Paz to be directed at assisting and protecting local communities to the south of La Paz which had been the most seriously affected.

LNM Holdings

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many times her Department has supported applications from (a) LNM Holdings and (b) Mr. Lakshmi Mittal for bank loans.

Clare Short: We are aware of four loans approved by those international financial institutions that my Department is responsible for: Ispat-Sidex in Romania (EBRD), Ispat-Karmet in Kazakhstan (EBRD and IFC), and Caribbean Ispat in Trinidad (IFC). The UK supported all these loans.

Cameroon

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department is taking to combat urban poverty in Cameroon.

Clare Short: My Department does not fund any programmes to combat urban poverty in Cameroon. We contribute to poverty reduction efforts in Cameroon through our support to the forestry sector. This is in recognition of the forestry sector's importance to the Cameroonian economy and the fact that a majority of poor people live in the forest zone.

Fair Trade

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether fair trade products are sold in her Department.

Hilary Benn: I am pleased to confirm that fair trade products are sold in DFID. All coffee provided for official meetings is fair trade, and fair trade coffee is available to staff from our in-house restaurant. In addition, our caterers are looking into providing additional fair trade products, and are actively promoting fair trade fortnight.

Rural Development

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's development spending in (a) sub-Saharan Africa and (b) south-east Asia is provided to the rural sector.

Clare Short: In the last year my Department has committed £374.3 million to projects in support of sustainable rural livelihoods, of which 61 per cent. was in sub-Saharan Africa and 28 per cent. in south Asia.
	In addition, contributions to livelihoods in rural areas were made through funding to global public goods research, contributions to multilateral organisations, funding for national infrastructure, and as contribution to policy in support of poverty reduction, including the role of rural economies and international trade. Much of my Department's spend in areas such as education and health is also in rural areas, which reflects the higher proportion of poor people living in rural areas.
	Given the multi-sectoral, national and international nature of much of the work of my Department, it would take disproportionate time to allocate these costs against rural, regional and other spend, and therefore to present these figures as a proportion of the Department's development spending.

Africa Private Infrastructure Financing Facility

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds have been allocated to the Africa Private Infrastructure Financing Facility; and when it became operational.

Clare Short: The fund, which is now known as the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), comprises both equity and loan finance. Equity is being contributed by a group of bilateral donors including Holland, Sweden and Switzerland, in addition to the United Kingdom. My Department has committed £71 million over the period to March 2004. A consortium of commercial banks is providing both senior and subordinated debt, at a current level of about £140 million.
	The first meeting of the board of the company took place on 18 December 2001 in The Hague, while the public launch occurred on 30 January 2002 in London.

Africa Private Infrastructure Financing Facility

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the projects being supported by the Africa Private Infrastructure Financing Facility and indicate how much money has been allocated to each project.

Clare Short: The facility has now been launched as the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund. It is currently investigating a number of possible investment opportunities but, since it has been in existence for a short period of time, the board has not yet taken a decision to commit funds to any specific initiative.
	The amount of funding available for investment presently stands at over £200 million. An investment policy has been agreed with the fund managers which will ensure that the projects selected are socially and environmentally sound, and contribute to pro-poor development.

Women

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of the micro- credit agencies supported by her Department are allocated to empower women.

Clare Short: Most clients of micro-finance institutions are women, who use their community banks to make regular saving deposits or to take out loans to expand their manufacturing or trading micro-enterprises. Research shows that micro-finance services can have a hugely positive social and economic impact on poor and socially marginalised women.
	DFID funds many such institutions worldwide. While we do not possess detailed, disaggregated data, we estimate that 70–80 per cent. of our funding for micro- finance directly support women. Many organisations that we support explicitly target women clients. For example, BRAC in Bangladesh serves 4.3 million members, over 98 per cent. of whom are female. We are also making progress in countries where women have limited rights. Over the last five years, we supported the rapid growth of Kashf Foundation in Pakistan, a micro-finance institution dedicated to empowering women. It is entirely female-owned and managed, and serves 10,000 women.
	Likewise, in several African countries we support FINCA, which provides services almost exclusively to women. We also fund Opportunity International's network of micro-finance institutions in five African countries, serving almost 43,000 women or almost 70 per cent. of its total client base.

Tanzania

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many letters from the public her Department has received regarding the sale of an air defence system to Tanzania.

Clare Short: DFID has received 94 letters from the public and 23 letters from constituents via their MPs regarding the sale of an air traffic system to Tanzania.

EU Directives

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the European Union directives and regulations relating to her Department that have been implemented in each of the last four years, specifying (a) the title and purpose of each, (b) the cost to public funds of each and (c) the cost to businesses of each.

Clare Short: The information requested is not held centrally and providing it would involve disproportionate cost. Regulatory impact assessments are produced for all proposals, including those originating in European legislation, likely to impose significant costs on businesses in the UK and are generally made available in the Library of the House. We do not hold information on the costs of implementation to public funds or businesses.

Job Advertisements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the job advertisements placed by her Department in the last 12 months specifying where the advertisements were placed and the cost in each case.

Clare Short: The information requested on job advertisements which are place through an advertising contract, has been placed in the Library of the House. In addition, advertisements for the position of Director General (Programmes) were placed in "The Times" and "The Economist" at a cost of £11,461.

Catering Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of (a) in- house canteen and (b) other catering services provided by her Department in each of the last four years.

Clare Short: My Department has spent the following amounts on (a) in-house canteen and (b) catering services since 1 April 1998:
	
		£ 
		
			  In-house canteen services (a) Catering services (b) 
		
		
			 1998 51,025.46 15,118.02 
			 1999 85,728.66 11,242.02 
			 2000 130,495.84 18,177.59 
			 2001 109,303.59 11,363.61

EBRD Projects

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the projects her Department has asked officials at the EBRD to support; and what the value of each of these projects was in each of the last five years.

Clare Short: The EBRD exists to help restructure the economies of former communist countries in central and eastern Europe. We support all responsible projects that serve this purpose. During the last five years for which figures are available (1996–2000) EBRD made commitments to 482 projects (total value of euro 11.7 billion).
	Lists of the projects that EBRD Directors have approved in the years 1996–2000 are available in the Annual Reports on the EBRD website www.ebrd.com. I will place a copy of EBRD's Annual Report for 2001 in the Library when it is published.

Volunteers

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many members of her staff in each of the past two years have been granted a day's paid leave to work as a volunteer; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: Our formal volunteering strategy was introduced in January 2001. All staff are eligible for one day's paid leave a year to allow them to take part in voluntary activities.
	I cannot provide statistics for the last two years but following the introduction of our strategy, nine staff were granted paid leave during 2001 to undertake volunteering activities. This figure excludes those staff who have used annual leave to enable them to participate in voluntary activities, or who did so out of working hours. For 2002, we have already approved three days paid leave for one individual.

PRIME MINISTER

Prime Ministerial Visits

David Chaytor: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit Ramsbottom.

Tony Blair: I have no immediate plans to do so.

City of London Corporation

John McDonnell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list those functions, engagements and events which he, his officials and advisers have attended which have been sponsored, funded, promoted and hosted by the City of London Corporation since 1997.

Tony Blair: I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals. As with previous Administrations it is not my practice to provide details of all such meetings. Since 1997, I have regularly attended the annual Lord Mayor's Banquet.

City of London Corporation

John McDonnell: To ask the Prime Minister what communications have taken place between himself, his Office and his advisers and the City of London Corporation in relation to the City of London (Ward Elections) Bill since May 1997.

Tony Blair: I and my advisers have received representations on the importance that the City of London Corporation attach to the City of London (Ward Elections) Bill.

Volunteers

Bob Russell: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 701W, on voluntary work, how many members of his staff in 2001 were granted a day's paid leave to work as a volunteer.

Tony Blair: Our records show that 15 staff who were part of the 2000 project with a school have continued into 2001. There are another 10 staff who have also carried out different activities, including in their local area in 2001.

A400M

Jim Cousins: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make representations to Airbus to ensure that a British team (a) leads the planning and (b) provides the powershaft for the A400M heavy lift transport for the RAF.

Tony Blair: The Government of course hope that the UK defence industry will be involved as much as possible in this project and recognise the considerable expertise that industry could bring to this project. Ultimately, Airbus Military is free to select its own suppliers on the grounds of performance and cost.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Tony Baldry: To ask the Prime Minister what his objectives are for the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Coolum, Australia; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made in the House today.

Fort William to London Sleeper Service

Alan Reid: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on departmental responsibility for financial assistance for the Fort William to London sleeper service.

Tony Blair: holding answer 4 March 2002
	The current arrangement is for the Scottish Executive to fund the franchise payments made by the Strategic Rail Authority to ScotRail, the train operating company which holds the franchise to run this service. For that purpose, the Executive receives a matching transfer of funds, under interim arrangements, from the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions.

Romania

Christopher Chope: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2002, Official Report, column 1450W ref 39039, 
	(1)  whether information on the number of occasions in the past two years he has written to the Prime Minister of Romania about the award of contracts to companies with British interests is available;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2002, ref 39032, for what reason disclosure of the number of occasions in the past two years that he has written to foreign Governments about the award of contracts to companies with British interests would harm the conduct of international relations or affairs;
	(3)  pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2002, ref 39032, whether information on the number of occasions in the past two years he has written to foreign Governments about the award of contracts to companies is available;
	(4)  pursuant to his answer, of 28 February 2002, ref 39039, for what reason the disclosure of the number of occasions he has written to the Prime Minister of Romania would harm the conduct of international relations or affairs.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 28 February.

British Companies

Andrew Turner: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 27 February 2002, Offical Report, column 1268w ref 38395, on British companies, what his criteria are for deciding whether to support British companies seeking contracts abroad.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to my previous answer.

Iraq

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 28 November 2002, Official Report, column 966, what discussions he has had with President Bush in relation to Iraq and the pursuit of international terrorism in all its forms.

Tony Blair: I regularly discuss all aspects of Iraq policy and the campaign against terrorism with President Bush. We share the concerns of all responsible Governments about Iraq's relationship with terrorism and its development weapons of mass destruction.

Engagements

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his official engagements between 3.30 pm and 4.30 pm on Tuesday 26 February.

Tony Blair: As has already been made public I was meeting the heads of all the Regional Development Agencies.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Staff

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people her Department employed in each of the past seven years; how many of those employees worked on (a) a part-time basis and (b) a full-time basis; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The information is set out in the table.
	
		
			   Average staff in post Full-time Part-time 
		
		
			 1995 363 354 9 
			 1996 350 339 11 
			 1997 344 331 13 
			 1998 364 339 15 
			 1999 375 358 17 
			 2000 405 382 23 
			 2001 456 433 23 
		
	
	My Department supports a range of work patterns, including part-time, intended to help staff better manage their work and other responsibilities.

Volunteers

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many members of her staff in each of the past two years have been granted a day's paid leave to work as a volunteer; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My Department does not have a central record of the number of staff who have been granted a day's paid leave to work as a volunteer over the past two years. The Department supports voluntary public service and encourages its staff and managers to take advantage of the extra day's paid annual leave, and other special leave arrangements, which are in place for those who wish to undertake such work.

Parliamentary Questions

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will answer the question tabled on 22 January Ref. 279, in regard to the New Year's festivities at the Millennium Dome; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. The hon. Gentleman's original question (29586) was transferred to his Department and I understand that he will be replying today.

Aldeburgh Festival

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the work of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Trust; and what financial assistance and support her Department is giving to the festival.

Kim Howells: The funding of arts festivals is a matter for the Arts Council of England and the Regional Arts Boards. I understand that East England Arts is working closely with the Aldeburgh Poetry Trust to bring about sustainable growth in its activities. The Trust is in the first year of a three year funding agreement with East England Arts which will provide investment of £41,388 over the three years 2001–04.

Gambling

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) economic and (b) other evaluation has been made of the impact of the independent review of the gambling controls in Great Britain on holiday resorts.

Richard Caborn: We intend, when announcing our conclusions on the report of the Gambling Review Body, to publish a partial regulatory assessment which will provide an overall assessment of the benefits and costs of the recommendations in the report for the gambling industry and the economy as a whole.

Gambling

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people are employed in the manufacture of gaming machines in Great Britain.

Richard Caborn: Evidence submitted by the industry to the Gambling Review Body indicated that about 1,800 people are directly employed in the manufacture of gaming machines in Great Britain.

Gambling

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the number of jobs created by the gaming industry in each of the last three years.

Richard Caborn: This information is not collected. The available information indicates that about 95,000 are currently employed in the gambling industry as a whole.

Gambling

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the framework used in the independent review of the gambling controls in Great Britain.

Richard Caborn: We hope to be able to announce our conclusions on the report of the Gambling Review Body within the next few weeks.

Lottery Funds

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the Department has to ensure that unused Lottery money is allocated in the next six months.

Richard Caborn: All the income received by the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) is allocated to the distributing bodies. At the end of December 2001, commitments by the distributing bodies to projects totalled approximately £3.82 billion, some £290 million more than the NLDF balance at the same date.
	The Government are working with the distributing bodies to ensure not only that Lottery funds are committed to projects, but that this money is paid over to project operators as quickly as reasonably possible so that good causes derive the greatest possible benefit from the funds raised by the Lottery. We will set out our proposals in more detail in due course.

Rail Journeys (Staff)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make it her policy that rail journeys undertaken by staff in her Department should ordinarily be on standard class tickets.

Kim Howells: DCMS travel and subsistence rules encourage staff to use Standard Class travel wherever possible. To obtain best value for money management of the policy is delegated to line management who are responsible for authorisation and economical management of all official travel. While first class travel is permitted for some grades many of them travel at standard class unless, for example, they need extra space or comfort to work during travel.

Capita

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list all contracts awarded by her Department to Capita since 1997, including (a) start and finish date of contract, (b) value of contract, (c) description of work to be carried out, (d) evaluation mechanism for successful delivery of contract, (e) penalty charges for failure to deliver and (f) if penalty charges have been incurred; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: holding answer 5 March 2002
	The information is as follows.
	
		Capita -- £
		
			 Year   
		
		
			 1998–99 (January–April 1998) Recruitment of Chairman and Members—New Opportunities Fund 14,000 
			 1998–99 (January–April 1998) Recruitment of Chairman and Trustees—National Endowment for Science and Technology (NESTA) 13,000 
			 1998–99 Recruitment for BBC Appointments 12,000 
			 2001–02 (October–November 2001) Training for Recruitment Scheme—Middle and Senior Managers 17,000 
			 2001–02 (February–March 2002) Providing and Marking Standard Civil Service Written Tests 1,000 
			 2001–02 (November 2001–February 2002) Civil Service Junior Manager Recruitment Scheme 8,000 
			 Total  65,000 
		
	
	Note:
	Includes Royal Parks (nil return)
	For each contract, DCMS appoints a "Performance Monitoring Officer". His/her satisfaction is the benchmark for success.
	There have been no "penalty charges"—but failure to deliver might lead to the contract being determined, moneys being withheld from the contractor, or the employment of a replacement contractor at the outgoing contractors expense.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Building Research Establishment

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reports she has received from the Building Research Establishment on the disposal of the Building Research Establishment library stock.

Brian Wilson: This is a matter for the Building Research Establishment. However I have asked them to write to my hon. Friend and I have received no formal reports from BRE on the disposal of its library stock.

Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the membership of the Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network; and what its terms of reference are.

Brian Wilson: The membership of the Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network (AFEN) varies over time. The most recent list of members is:
	Agip (UK) Ltd., Amerada Hess, British Gas E&P Ltd., BP Amoco, Chevron UK Ltd., Conoco (UK) Ltd., Department of Trade and Industry, Enterprise Oil plc, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Phillips Petroleum Company UK Ltd., Scottish Executive—Environment and Rural Affairs Department (Fisheries Research Services), Shell UK Exploration and Production, Statoil and Texaco North Sea UK.
	AFEN has a Mission Statement rather than "Terms of Reference". AFEN's Mission Statement is:
	"The Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network will co-operatively work as an industry to understand the key aspects of the Atlantic Frontier region environment and implement monitoring programmes and protection measures necessary to minimise or eliminate adverse impact. The strategy will be implemented by:
	Reviewing, investigating and understanding the natural and physical environment of the Atlantic Margin including:
	Seabed sediments and topography
	Hydrographic phenomena
	Benthic Fauna
	Fishing and associated resources
	Sea mammals, particularly large cetaceans
	Seabirds.
	Identifying parts of the environment vulnerable to routine Exploration and Production operations and planning pollution prevention or minimisation strategies. Operations would include:
	Seismic
	Drilling
	Production
	Decommissioning
	Assessing the risks and possible impacts of unplanned or emergency pollution incidents and implementing response plans.
	Developing a wider dialogue and consensus with local communities and parties with a legitimate interest in the offshore environment of the Atlantic Margin."

Development

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how often the Department has applied the special urgency provisions in paragraph 22 of Circular 18/84 (Development by Government Departments) to a development by the Department; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department has not applied the special urgency provisions of DOE Circular 18/84 since it took over overall responsibility for the property management of its estate in April 1996. The DTI does not hold centralised property records prior to 1996.

Electricity

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role she or her officials will play in the DTI study into the electricity transmission and distribution system's resilience; if it will be an independent study; and when and to whom the consultants will report.

Brian Wilson: The study has been commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry. It is being carried out by the independent consultants British Power International (BPI), who were appointed following a competitive tender exercise. They are managed by a project management team consisting of officials from the Department's Energy Group and a representative from Ofgem. BPI will produce a report for DTI ministers in April 2002. Ministers' role will be to decide on what follow-up action is appropriate.

Small Businesses

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received concerning extending the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme to retail businesses; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: I have received representations from a variety of bodies over a period of time about the reintroduction of retailing as an eligible business activity under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme.
	The Scheme is currently being considered as part of the DTI's wider review of business support.

Small Businesses

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the role of her Department in the operations of small business/Europe, with respect to (a) policy formation, (b) lobbying and (c) personnel.

Nigel Griffiths: The Small Business Service of the Department of Trade and Industry manages the contract under which small business/europe operates. Small business/europe is, however, a private company that determines its own policy formation and lobbying strategy through consultation with other UK SME representative organisations, trade associations and small and medium sized businesses themselves. The Director of small business/Europe, Ben Butters, is responsible for personnel for the organisation.

Small Businesses

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on planned funding arrangements for small business/Europe over the medium term.

Nigel Griffiths: Small business/europe has full Government funding for the first two years of operation and thereafter must find an increasing proportion of its funding from private sources as the funding from the Small Business Service of the Department of Trade and Industry is reduced.

LNM Holdings

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions took place between her Department and other Government Departments on the takeover of Sidex Steel by LNM Holdings.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 28 February 2002
	Discussions took place between Trade PartnersUK and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Steel Industry

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what employer recruitment subsidies have been put in place to support those made redundant from Corus in (a) Wales and (b) the UK as a whole.

Patricia Hewitt: None. Redundant Corus workers, in Wales and the UK as a whole, were offered help to find new employment through the Job Transition Service (now called the Rapid Response Service) which is designed to match worker's skills to local job vacancies. In some circumstances, where the eligibility criteria are met, newly redundant workers have early entry to the national new deal programme that offers a wide range of options, including employer subsidies—designed to encourage the employment of the long term unemployed.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 22 January regarding the construction industry.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 28 February 2002
	The reply in question has been signed by myself and forwarded to my hon. Friend prior to the tabling of his question.

Volunteers

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many members of her staff in each of the past two years have been granted a day's paid leave to work as a volunteer; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: All members of staff in my Department have the right to one day's special leave with pay per year to undertake voluntary activity for the benefit of the wider community.
	The granting of paid time off for voluntary activity is delegated to line management level and figures are not held centrally.

Miners' Compensation

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to locate a respiratory specialist in Merseyside to assist with medical assessments of former miners seeking compensation.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 4 March 2002
	There are now almost 1,560 claims in respect of living miners registered in Merseyside. Centres have been positioned geographically in areas of high concentration of claimants and where respiratory specialists are available to staff the centres. Claimants are usually invited to attend a test centre within a 25-mile radius from their residence. The centres Merseyside claimants will be directed to are Wrexham, Wigan and Manchester. These are considered to be adequately close to service the needs of Merseyside claimants. However, claimants are given the option to attend a different centre if a more suitable time is available. For those claimants who are not able to travel to a centre, and have a letter from their doctor, Healthcall, the company contracted to undertake the Medical Assessment Process, MAP, can carry out home visits. Where there are pockets of claimants outside the 25 mile radius of a test centre, but insufficient numbers to set up a permanent centre, one of the mobile testing units will be used to assess these claimants.

Miners' Compensation

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in processing miners' compensation claims in (a) the UK, (b) the north-east, (c) south Tyneside and (d) the Jarrow constituency.

Brian Wilson: IRISC, the Department's claims handlers, have made the following interim and full and final settlements to date:
	
		
			 Region Number of interim payments Number of full and final payments Damages paid (£ million) 
		
		
			 Respiratory disease
			 (a) UK 31,163 12,920 172.6 
			 (b) North-east 5,929 1,627 36.6 
			 (c) South Tyneside 499 184 2.8 
			 (d) Jarrow 121 55 0.7 
			   
			  Vibration White Finger 
			 (a) UK 41,883 22,577 396.2 
			 (b) North-east 9,171 5,167 97.4 
			 (c) South Tyneside 982 305 9.2 
			 (d) Jarrow 249 102 2.5 
		
	
	There has been some good progress lately, particularly in relation to respiratory disease. In January alone, over 2,800 full and final offers, excluding expedited offers, were made worth £21.1 million in relation to respiratory disease. With regards to Vibration White Finger, 3,200 offers have been made in January, worth £29.5 million.

Miners' Compensation

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many outstanding claims for miners' compensation there are in (a) the UK, (b) the north-east, (c) south Tyneside and (d) the Jarrow constituency.

Brian Wilson: IRISC, the Department's claims handlers have registered the following number of claims and made the following settlements:
	
		
			 Region Number of claims Number of full and final payments Number of denied/ withdrawn claims  Number of outstanding claims 
		
		
			 Respiratory disease 
			 (a) UK 131,731 12,920 3,584 115,227 
			 (b) North-east 26,635 1,627 572 24,436 
			 (c) South Tyneside 2,368 184 40 2,144 
			 (d) Jarrow 607 55 9 543 
			   
			  Vibration White Finger 
			 (a) UK 111,644 22,577 4,510 84,557 
			 (b) North-east 20,677 5,167 931 14,579 
			 (c) South Tyneside 1,916 305 67 1,544 
			 (d) Jarrow 519 102 17 400

Combined Heat and Power

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimates have been made about the future potential of CHP in sectors of the economy, with particular reference to industry, in the Department's report, Long-Term Reductions in Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the UK, from the Inter-departmental Analysts Group chaired by the Department.

Brian Wilson: The report by the Inter-departmental Analysts Group makes a number of references to the future potential for CHP and micro CHP in all sectors of the economy to contribute to savings in greenhouse gas emissions. For the industry and services sectors this (technical) potential is incorporated within the estimates for potential savings from improved energy efficiency. That potential has been considered on the basis of a scenario approach to 2050, explained within the energy efficiency sections of the paper prepared by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and specifically in annexes C and D. Overall, the report suggests potential for CHP to provide up to 25 per cent. of electricity generation for industry and services by 2050. The full report is found at http://www2.dti.gov.uk/energy/ greenhousesgas/index.htm.

Combined Heat and Power

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will revise the sustainable development guidelines to reflect the Government's target to double the UK use of combined heat and power by 2010.

Brian Wilson: The Department has not issued any guidelines on sustainable development. However the DTI's Sustainable Development Strategy was published in October 2000 and is available on the DTI website. The Government remain committed to supporting CHP and my Department is working with colleagues in DEFRA and industry to improve the economic conditions for CHP and we are actively contributing to the development of the Government's CHP strategy.

E-mail

Richard Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the common position on Directive COM2000/0385, with particular reference to the compromise agreed on Article 13 regarding unsolicited e-mail marketing;
	(2)  if she will include an opt-in system for e-mail marketing in the Government's transposition of the E-commerce Directive.

Douglas Alexander: At the Telecoms Council on 6 December last year, member states and the Commission reached political agreement on the draft Communications Data Protection Directive, including the provisions on unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) in Article 13, where the issue has been whether UCE should be subject to opt-in rules, under which it could only be sent with the prior consent of the addressee, or member states should have discretion to apply opt-out rules, under which UCE can be sent unless the addressee has objected, either to e-mails from a particular sender or on a blanket basis by registering on a central opt-out list.
	The Commission's original proposals produced a very divided response, and at the council, a compromise was agreed. Under this, the general principle would be opt-in, but with an opt-out exception for e-mail sent in the context of an existing customer relationship provided, among other things, that the sender has obtained the addressee's contact details in accordance with existing data protection rules. The UK supported this compromise wording at the council, and we believe it offers a sensible and workable regulatory approach. The draft Directive is now going through second reading procedures in the European Parliament.
	The Government will shortly be publicly consulting on draft Regulations implementing the E-Commerce Directive.

Regulatory Impact Unit

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many members of staff her Department employs in its regulatory impact unit; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: Two members of staff currently work in the departmental regulatory impact unit (DRIU). Of the two staff, one member works full-time and the other member spends three days of the week with the DRIU team. A new full-time member of staff will be heading the DRIU team from Wednesday 20 March. In addition there are 11 members of staff who work in the Small Business Service on better regulation for small business across Government.

Export Promotion

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the level of support provided for UK export promotion by the Government; and what information she has collated on the level of support provided by other members of the European Union.

Nigel Griffiths: Government funding for trade development and promotion is the responsibility of Trade Partners UK, an arm of British Trade International which is a joint operation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department of Trade and Industry. Programme funding for 2001–02 is £68 million. For a more detailed breakdown of Government support for trade development and promotion, please refer to the Expenditure Plans Reports of British Trade International (Cm 5123), the Department of Trade and Industry (Cm 5112), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Cm 5110) and British Trade International's Resource Accounts for 2000–01 (HC 526).
	The export support provided by members of the European Union is broadly similar to that provided by Trade Partners UK. However, member states use different management systems and structures to provide their export promotion services, which make direct comparisons between individual countries very difficult.

Gas Supplies

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will publish a list of the priority end users under the network gas supply emergency procedure.

Brian Wilson: DTI does not hold copies of these lists. As the procedures to which my hon. Friend refers state, these lists are held and maintained by Transco Local Distribution Zones. The lists are kept up to date locally with advice from gas shippers and suppliers to ensure that the details are as accurate as possible.
	The prioritisation process was agreed after an extensive public consultation period. As the Network Gas Supply Procedures make clear, the first priority is to maintain domestic supply. If it is possible and necessary to implement the priority gas consumer arrangements, generally speaking, hospitals and those caring for the sick will receive priority.
	I have placed copies of the categorisation of priorities in the Libraries of the House.

Credit Union

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research her Department has commissioned to (a) assess the potential contribution of the credit union movement to financial inclusion for disadvantaged households and (b) assess the role credit unions might have in progress towards meeting the objectives of the Government's fuel poverty strategy.

Brian Wilson: The Department has not commissioned research on credit unions. Officials have participated in the steering group of a research project commissioned by Ofgem under its Social Action Plan, and sponsored by Innogy, which includes a study of the feasibility of promoting credit unions as part of a wider strategy to tackle fuel poverty. The report on this work, "Ending Financial Exclusion and Fuel Poverty—A Factor 4 Approach" was published by Ofgem on 5 March.

Parliamentary Question

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will reply to the question from the hon. Member for Cynon Valley of 15 October 2001 (Ref 6545).

Nigel Griffiths: My response of 15 October 2001, Official Report, columns 981–82W said:
	"Inquiries are being made and I shall respond to my hon. Friend as soon as possible".
	I am now in a position to respond and apologise for the delay in doing so. Details of all export licensing decisions taken between 2 May 1997 and 31 December 2000 were set out in the Government's 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 annual reports on strategic export controls, published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; copies are in the Libraries of the House.
	Components and associated equipment for armoured vehicles are controlled under entries ML1, ML2, ML3, ML4, ML5, ML6, ML11, ML13, ML15 and ML17 in Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order, commonly known as the Military List. From 1 January 2001 to 24 January 2002, 69 SIELs and no OIEL were issued covering the export of items with the relevant ratings. During that same period one SEIL and one OIEL application were refused. In addition 22 SIEL and one OIEL applications were still awaiting a decision as of 24 January 2002.
	In addition, goods on the Military List may have been exported to Indonesia since May 1997 under certain open general export licences; copies of all open general export licences are placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Information relating to licences for components and associated equipment for specific armoured vehicles is confidential information, which is exempt from disclosure under Part 2, sections 1, 13 and 14 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

EU Delegations (Scottish Ministers)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether a Scottish Executive Minister will be a member of the UK delegation to the forthcoming Research European Union Council of Ministers meeting on 11 March; and what information is being provided by her Department to guarantee effective pre-council scrutiny by the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 4 March 2002
	My noble Friend the Minister for Science normally attends Research European Union Council of Ministers meetings for the UK. A Scottish Executive Minister will not be a member of the UK delegation to the Research Council meeting on 11 March. It is the responsibility of the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament to scrutinise the Scottish Executive's involvement in preparations for EU Council meetings. These arrangements are a matter for the Committee and the Scottish Executive. My Department provides information to Scottish Executive officials as part of that process. In developing the UK Government's position on European research issues, the Office of Science and Technology regularly consults the devolved administrations.

Rail Journeys (Staff)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy that rail journeys undertaken by staff in her Department should ordinarily be on standard class tickets.

Patricia Hewitt: The Department's policy on travel is set out in its staff handbook "The Guide" which states:
	Need for economy (minimum expenses rule)
	Staff travelling on official business must take advantage of any cheap facilities which may be available (e.g. special offers, day returns or season tickets) wherever practical. Line managers and staff should keep total expenses to the minimum, consistent with efficiency.

Road Transport Fuels

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the (a) names, (b) locations, (c) owners, (d) total output of refined road transport fuels and (e) number of employees of each of the oil refineries in UK.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 5 March 2002
	The following table is taken from the 2001 Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics, published by the DTI in July 2001.
	
		
			 Owner Name Location Distillation capacity(12) 
		
		
			 Shell UK Ltd. Stanlow Ellesmere Port, South Wirral 11.5 
			 Esso Petroleum Co.Ltd. Fawley Southampton 15.6 
			 BP Ltd. Coryton Stanford-le-Hope, Essex 9.6 
			  Grangemouth Grangemouth, Stirlingshire 10.1 
			 TotalFinaElf Ltd. Lindsey Killingholme, North Lincolnshire 10.0 
			 TotalFinaElf Ltd./Murco Ltd. Milford Haven Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire 5.3 
			 Conoco Ltd. Killingholme Killingholm, North Lincolnshire 9.4 
			 Texaco Refining Co. Ltd. Pembroke Pembroke, Pembrokeshire 10.1 
			 Petroplus International Ltd. North Tees Port Clarence, Cleveland 5.0 
		
	
	Three smaller specialist refineries at Harwich, Eastham and Dundee do not directly produce road transport fuels, and have a combined distillation capacity of 2.3 million tonnes per annum.
	The output of refined road transport fuels at each location is commercially sensitive, but some information is available on the UK Petroleum Industry Association website www.ukpia.com.
	For the UK as a whole, provisional data for 2001 was made available on the DTI Internet site at the end of February 2002. This indicates that total intake to petroleum refineries in 2001 was 82,323 thousand tonnes, from which a total production of Motor Spirit (petrol) of 21,455 thousand tonnes and Gas diesel oil of 26,564 thousand tonnes was obtained, of which 15,045 thousand tonnes was road diesel (DERV).
	According to the Annual Business Inquiry for 2000 carried out by the Office for National Statistics, a total of 13,799 people are employed in the oil refining sector in Great Britain. This survey does not identify employment at individual refinery level for confidentiality reasons, and we have not been able, in the time available, to identify publicly available data at individual refinery level on employment numbers.

Information and Consultation

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Government intends to implement the European Directive on Information and Consultation.

Alan Johnson: The directive will be formally adopted in the coming weeks. Each member state will then have three years to bring into force the necessary implementing legislation. We will be consulting in due course on how best to implement it in the UK.

Sellafield

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the incident involving rods being taken out of the reactor core at Sellafield on 8 February.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 4 March 2002
	The four reactors at BNFL's Calder Hall power station have been shut down for a prolonged period while BNFL undertakes work to review the safety of defuelling activities at the station. This follows the incident that occurred at the Chapelcross power station (which is similar in design to Calder Hall) where the grab on the hoist inside the defuelling machine failed causing the basket to detach from the hoist and some fuel rods to fall down the discharge well into a water filled fuel transport flask at the bottom of the well.
	In accordance with the requirements of the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), BNFL is currently carrying out work to recommission the fuel discharge route for the four reactors at the Calder Hall power station. This is part of the planned return to service of the reactors. The recommissioning process provides for particularly careful oversight of these operations in order to ensure that no problems arise as a result of any plant modifications that may have been made during the shutdown.
	With NII's agreement, BNFL started to carry out some defuelling of Reactor 1 at Calder Hall as part of that recommissioning process. On 8 February 2002, the first 24 fuel rods had been safely removed from the reactor and were in a fuel basket inside the defuelling machine. The fuel basket was about to be lowered in the normal way when it unexpectedly descended partway down the discharge well before stopping. The basket remained attached to the hoist and all the fuel remained inside the basket within the containment of the fuel discharge route.
	BNFL reported the event to the NII on 8 February. The NII observed the subsequent operation to recover the basket by manually lowering it down the discharge well into the flask. This operation was completed on 10 February and the fuel was removed in the normal way. There was no health risk either to members of the public or to personnel on site at any stage.
	Defuelling at Calder Hall has been suspended until BNFL reports the outcome of its internal investigation and completes any requirements for remedial action to the satisfaction of the NII.

Fuels Market

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to introduce a regulator for the UK downstream fuels market; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 5 March 2002
	The Government have no such plans.

Post Office

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the external financing limit target of the Post Office was in (a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2000–01; whether it was met; and what proportion of post tax profit the external financing limit represented in each year.

Douglas Alexander: As set out in the White Paper: "Post Office Reform: A World Class Service for the 21st Century", the Government replaced the setting of external financing limits with a new regime based on commercial dividends. No external financing limit was therefore set in respect of the years 1999–2000 and 2000–01.

Post Office

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the external financing limit target for the Post Office is in (a) this financial year and (b) 2002–03; and whether she expects those targets to be met.

Douglas Alexander: As set out in the White Paper: "Post Office Reform: A World Class Service for the 21st Century", the Government replaced the setting of external financing limits with a new regime based on commercial dividends. No external financing limit was therefore set for the current financial year or will be set for 2002–03.

Postal Services

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she will make to the Postal Services Commission in order to ensure the continued availability of postal services in rural areas.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 28 February 2002
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry is in regular contact with the Postal Services Commission. The Government have enshrined the universal postal service in legislation. The Postal Services Commission therefore has a primary statutory duty to ensure provision of a universal postal service. It also has a duty to have regard to the interests of individuals residing in rural areas. In exercising its functions Postcomm must act in accordance with all its statutory duties. These duties provide for continued provision of postal services in rural areas.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Incinerators

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the waste-burning incinerators that are being used in the Greater London area.

Michael Meacher: The table details the waste incinerators currently regulated by the Environment Agency in the Greater London area.
	
		
			 Company Location Incinerator type 
		
		
			 Johnson Matthey Enfield Chemical waste 
			 Clinical Energy Hillingdon Clinical waste 
			 London Waste Ltd. Edmonton Municipal waste 
			 Thames Water Beckton Sewage sludge 
			 SELCHP Deptford Municipal waste 
			 Thames Water Crossness Sewage sludge 
			 Reichhold (UK) Ltd. Mitcham Process water from polymerisation process 
		
	
	Smaller facilities are regulated by local authorities. Each year my Department surveys the 32 London boroughs and the Corporation of London seeking information on the number of incinerators they regulate. 27 authorities responded this year. In total, these 27 authorities regulated 20 crematoria and five other waste incinerators. Rounded up to the 33 authorities, this relates to 23 crematoria and six other incinerators.

Incinerators

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she is taking to (a) monitor and (b) reduce harmful emissions from municipal incinerators.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 28 February 2002
	Emission standards apply throughout the EU to municipal solid waste incineration facilities(MSWI's), both old and new. Enforcement action will be considered where monitoring reveals breaches of these standards.
	MSWI's are required to operate in accordance with best available techniques (BAT). The Environment Agency provides guidance to operators on how to achieve this. This identifies requirements for incinerators' design and operation. To ensure effective destruction of pollutants; residence time, temperature and turbulence are strictly controlled. The Agency is currently updating this guidance and I understand that an early consultation draft has also been placed on the Agency's website.
	Additionally the Environment Agency has recently varied the authorisations for existing MSWI's to reduce the dioxin emission limit to 0.1 ng/m 3 .
	We are currently transposing the new waste incineration directive, which will further tighten emissions standards. The older generation of incinerators has now been replaced with newer, cleaner technology, and most municipal waste incinerators in this country already meet the tough standards that will be introduced with the new directive. Incinerator emissions of all air pollutants are now less than 1.5 per cent. of total UK emissions.

Incinerators

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the frequency and methodology of sampling for dioxin emissions at the SELCHP incinerator.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 28 February 2002
	Dioxin emissions from SELCHP are regularly monitored by the operators on a six-monthly basis to check compliance with the EU-wide emission standards.
	Additionally, the Environment Agency carries out independent check monitoring at a minimum frequency of once per year. All monitoring results, including those carried out by the operators, are available on public registers held at the offices listed.
	The emissions monitoring methodology is based on US Environmental Protection Agency Method 23. This requires samples to be taken over a period of six to eight hours, at a variety of locations in the stack. Samples are then removed for laboratory analysis using sophisticated and time consuming techniques.
	Public registers containing monitoring results for SELCHP are available at:
	London Borough of Lewisham
	Laurence House
	1 Catford Road
	Catford and
	The Environment Agency
	Swift House
	Frimley Business Park
	Frimley
	Surrey.

Incinerators

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the level of dioxin emissions from the SELCHP incinerator.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 28 February 2002
	Dioxin emissions have been regularly monitored at SELCHP for the last eight years, both by the operator and by the Environment Agency, to check compliance with EU-wide emission standards. Level of dioxins monitored at SELCHP over the last four years are given in the table:
	
		
			  Dioxin level at stack 1 Dioxin level at stack 2  Monitoring  
			 Reporting period ng/m(14) ng/m(14) body 
		
		
			 November 2001 0.031 0.008 EA 
			 September 2001 0.003 0.008 SELCHP 
			 April 2001 0.015 0.012 SELCHP 
			 January 2001 0.06 0.14 SELCHP 
			 November 2000 0.01 0.0098 EA 
			 September 2000 0.025 0.034 SELCHP 
			 March 2000 0.008 0.009 SELCHP 
			 September 1999 less than 0.01 less than 0.01 SELCHP 
			 April 1999 0.005 0.005 SELCHP 
			 October 1998 0.005 0.005 SELCHP 
			 September 1998 0.007 less than 0.01 SELCHP 
			 March 1998 0.0 0.01 SELCHP 
			 December 1997 0.01 0.02 EA 
			 September 1997 0.02 0.01 SELCHP 
		
	
	The dioxin emission limit for SELCHP was reduced from 1.0 ng/m 3 to 0.1 ng/m 3 in October 2000.
	The result recorded for Stack 2 for January 2001 is numerically above this limit, although the inherent uncertainty of measurement at these very low levels is such that the true concentration cannot confidently be said to be above the limit. Nevertheless, in view of this uncharacteristic result, the Environment Agency required further monitoring which was carried out in April 2001 as shown in the table above. A note was placed on the public register stating, for the January 2001 results:
	"The reported results for dioxins on stream two are shown to be slightly in excess of the recently reduced limit of 0.1 ng/m 3 . In view of the uncertainty reported for this result, the exceedance is not considered as a breach of emission limits. Retests are being carried out this will be discussed with the operator."
	Public registers containing monitoring results for SELCHP are available at:
	London Borough of Lewisham
	Laurence House
	1 Catford Road
	Catford
	and
	The Environment Agency
	Swift House
	Frimley Business Park
	Frimley
	Surrey.

Fuel Poverty

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the most recent available information is on the extent of fuel poverty in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland; what sources have been used to calculate latest statistics; and what progress has been made in reaching a common agreed definition of fuel poverty that can be used on a UK-wide basis.

Michael Meacher: The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy was published in November last year. Copies have been placed in the Library.
	It is estimated that in 2000 there were 2.8 million households in fuel poverty in England, when fuel poverty is defined as occurring when a household needs to spend more than 10 per cent. of its income on all fuel use to achieve a satisfactory heating regime (where income includes housing benefit and income support for mortgage interest). Using the alternative definition of income (excluding housing benefit and income support for mortgage interest) it is estimated that there were 3.9 million households in fuel poverty. These estimates are based on the 1998 Energy Follow Up Survey taking account of changes in income and energy prices between 1998 and 2000. The method and data sources used to produce these figures are set out in "Fuel Poverty in England in 1999 and 2000" available at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/fuelpoverty/index.htm which can be accessed via www.defra.gov.uk/environment/energy/ fuelpov/index.htm.
	Fuel poverty is a devolved issue and it is for the Devolved Administrations to comment on their most recent available information. an agreed single definition of fuel poverty is not possible until Wales and Scotland have completed a consultation exercise. However, it is the Government's intention to move to a UK-wide definition in the medium term.

Agriculture Council

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether a Scottish Executive Minister will be a Member of the UK delegation to the Agriculture European Union Council of Ministers meeting on 18 February; and what information is being provided by her Department to permit pre-council scrutiny by the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 27 February 2002
	Scottish Executive Ministers did not attend the February Agriculture Council as there was nothing on the agenda of specific interest to Scotland. On the second point, the Department does not provide pre-council briefing direct to the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament.

Composting

Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects a national composting standard to be put in place.

Michael Meacher: Comprehensive standards for compost are a top priority for developing markets for organic waste derived products. They will be vital in achieving both local authority statutory targets for recycling and composting and our obligations under the landfill directive to reduce the landfill of biodegradable municipal waste.
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) are currently working with the Composting Association to develop the existing industry standard for compost, launched in 2000, to achieve British Standards Institute (BSI) accreditation. The first stage is the development of a BSI Publicly Available Specification (PAS) which WRAP anticipates will be available in autumn 2002.

Traffic Emissions

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what predicted levels of emissions from traffic the Government are using over (a) five (b) 10 and (c) 20 years periods to meet the Kyoto and successor protocols.

Michael Meacher: The latest set of projections was published in the UK's Third National Communication on Climate Change in October 2001. The table provides details of end user emissions from the transport sector. The end user classification re-allocates emissions from the energy supply sector so that a more complete picture is given of transport's contribution to the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. Road transport accounts for over 90 per cent. of the total level of carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector.
	The projections include the effect of the fuel duty escalator to 1999, but they do not include the estimated carbon savings from the EU-level voluntary agreements with car manufacturers to reduce CO 2 emissions from new cars by 2008–09 or from the 10-Year Plan for Transport. We estimate that the voluntary agreements will save 4 MtC and that the 10-Year Plan will save 1.6 MtC in 2010.
	
		End user emissions from transport by gas, MtC
		
			 Gases Base year 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 
		
		
			 Carbon dioxide 39.1 40.0 42.9 45.4 47.7 50.1 
			 Methane 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 Nitrous oxide 0.4 1.3 1.8 2.0 2.1 2.3 
			 HFCs 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.5 
			 Total GHGs 39.7 41.6 44.9 47.8 50.4 53.0 
			 Change from 1990 levels (percentage) — 5 13 20 27 33

Energy Efficiency

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will investigate the use of the enhanced capital allowance scheme to encourage greater take-up of energy efficiency equipment and methods for (a) retail/commercial, (b) individual and (c) domestic applications.

Michael Meacher: The Carbon Trust will soon take over the management and promotion of the Government's enhanced capital allowance scheme for energy saving technologies. As part of its responsibilities, the Carbon Trust plan to carry out surveys and stakeholder investigations to assess the impact of the scheme. The retail and commercial sector will be among those which will be invited to participate.
	Enhanced capital allowances relieve business expenditure against profits for tax and do not apply to private and domestic expenditure.

Energy Efficiency

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what incentives exist for installation of energy efficiency equipment to enable the introduction of measures to control plant more efficiently and effectively.

Michael Meacher: The Government are committed to encouraging the installation of energy efficiency equipment through the enhanced capital allowance scheme. The scheme was set up in April last year and provides a fiscal incentive for business to purchase and install energy saving technologies. The Carbon Trust will soon take over the management of the enhanced capital allowance scheme and the Government's energy efficiency best practice programme—that offers businesses advice regarding energy efficient and low carbon technologies.
	In addition the Energy Saving Trust provides advice and information to the domestic sector.

Flooding

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the Government plan to increase the amount of flood defence funds for coastal communities this year; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Government are committed to sustaining flood and coastal defences and have increased spending plans in both of their spending reviews and again following the severe flooding in autumn 2000. Recognising the severity of the 2000 floods the Government announced a further £51 million over the period to 2003–04.
	DEFRA's funding is set to increase from an outturn of £66 million in 2000–01 to £106 million in 2002–03 and £114 million in 2003–04. The amounts allocated to coastal and tidal river defences within these totals will depend on decisions by the operating authorities (Environment Agency and local authorities) on priorities for reduction of risk from flooding and coastal erosion and timing of works.

EU Vessels

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs further to his answer of 4 December 2001, Official Report, column 271W, on EU vessels, how many vessels, operating under non-EU flags of convenience but owned by Community companies, receive Community financial support for activity other than modernisation grants.

Elliot Morley: This information is not available.

Aquatic Pursuits

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date each Regional Fisheries, Ecology and Recreation Advisory Committee of the Environment Agency last discussed improving access to water for non-powered craft.

Alun Michael: The dates that each of the Regional Fisheries, Ecology and Recreation Advisory Committees of the Environment Agency last discussed improving access to water for non-powered craft are as listed.
	North East—23 January 2002
	Anglian—12 January 2000
	Thames—28 January 2000
	Southern—27 January 2000
	South West—21 January 2000
	Midlands—18 January 2000
	North West—21 January 2000
	Wales—27 January 2000.

Ancient Woodland

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what planning proposals she has to protect ancient woodland.

Sally Keeble: I have been asked to reply.
	The review of Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) note 9 on Nature Conservation will present an opportunity to consider guidance on trees and ancient woodlands, including areas of ancient woodland that are not designated as sites of special scientific interest.
	My Department will also provide any planning advice that is required in respect of the proposed best practice guidance on forestry and woodlands, and in the updating of Circular 36/78 on Trees and Forestry.

WALES

Cynon Valley

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last discussed the future development of the former phurnacite plant site in the Cynon Valley with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales; and what conclusions were reached.

Paul Murphy: I meet regularly with the First Minister when we discuss a range of issues affecting Wales.
	The former Phurnacite plant at Abercwmboi is presently the subject of a mediation process led by the Environment Council. The process is trying to establish whether it is possible for interested parties to reach agreement on how remediation of this site, and the adjoining Ancit plant site, might be taken forward. No decisions on the future use of the site will be taken until the mediation process is completed later this year.

Fair Trade

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether fair trade products are sold in his Department.

Paul Murphy: No. My Department has no shops or other outlets where such products could be sold.

External Contracts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations which previously held contracts with his Department (a) won new contracts at the culmination of the existing contracts and (b) won new contracts after a period of inactivity with his Department in each of the past five years.

Paul Murphy: holding answer 28 February 2002
	There have been no such cases since the creation of the Wales Office in July 1999. For the former Welsh Office, the information requested is not readily available and the question can be answered only at disproportionate cost.

External Contracts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by his Department from (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999, (c) May 1999 to April 2000, (d) May 2000 to April 2001 and (e) May 2001 to the latest date, indicating in each case the values of the contracts and the companies with which the contracts were placed.

Paul Murphy: holding answer 28 February 2002
	For the former Welsh Office (covering the period until June 1999) the information requested is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Since its creation in July 1999 the Wales Office has continued these contracts which it inherited from the former Welsh Office:
	Cleaning by Appointment (office cleaning)
	Securicor Guarding (out-of-hours security)
	Government Car and Despatch Service (Ministerial cars)
	Sykes and Sons (flying of flags).
	It has also had a contract with The Bridge to provide counselling services in connection with the North Wales Child Abuse Tribunal.
	The value of these contracts is commercially confidential.

External Contracts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations have won new contracts with (a) his Department and (b) executive agencies in each of the past five years.

Paul Murphy: holding answer 28 February 2002
	For the former Welsh Office the information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Wales Office, since its creation in July 1999, has only continued existing contracts inherited from the Welsh Office.

Sports

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales regarding the development of centres of sports excellence in Wales.

Don Touhig: My right hon. Friend and I meet regularly with the First Secretary and his Cabinet colleagues to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales.
	Wales already has 42 Centres of Regional Excellence and over 170 Centres of Local Development. I understand that the Sports Council for Wales has developed a set of criteria for prioritising the specialist facilities needed by governing bodies of sport.

Correspondence

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many letters were received by (a) the Secretary of State for Wales and (b) the Under-Secretary of State for Wales in each month since July 1999.

Paul Murphy: The information is contained in the table:
	
		
			 Letters received by: Secretary of State Under-Secretary of State Inter- departmentals 
		
		
			 July 1999 21 7 360 
			 August 1999 206 68 327 
			 September 1999 174 58 559 
			 October 1999 173 57 636 
			 November 1999 138 46 981 
			 December 1999 115 38 602 
			 January 2000 75 26 870 
			 February 2000 106 35 720 
			 March 2000 102 34 925 
			 April 2000 70 24 592 
			 May 2000 84 28 587 
			 June 2000 72 24 625 
			 July 2000 65 22 620 
			 August 2000 64 22 506 
			 September 2000 49 17 389 
			 October 2000 39 13 540 
			 November 2000 52 17 759 
			 December 2000 13 5 469 
			 January 2001 2 — 405 
			 February 2001 29 4 454 
			 March 2001 34 10 703 
			 April 2001 16 10 368 
			 May 2001 17 4 326 
			 June 2001 11 — 183 
			 July 2001 19 2 546 
			 August 2001 28 1 346 
			 September 2001 25 1 306 
			 October 2001 30 5 581 
			 November 2001 33 2 620 
			 December 2001 13 6 439 
			 January 2002 35 2 340

TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS

Millennium Dome

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the total (a) costs and (b) revenue were of the (i) 2000 and (ii) 2001 new year's eve functions held at the Millennium Dome; how the events were planned; how the contracts were negotiated; with whom contacts were entered into; if similar events are planned at the Millennium Dome in the future; what the costs for maintaining the Dome and the surrounding site were for each of the past 24 months; and if he will make a statement.

Sally Keeble: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) was responsible for the Dome up to the end of June 2001. English Partnerships took ownership of the Dome on 1 July 2001.
	The new year's eve events in 2000 and 2001 were both held by the Ministry of Sound.
	NMEC received £90,900 from the Ministry of Sound in connection with the new year's eve 2000 event which included payments to cover incremental costs totalling £40,900. NMEC bore costs of £11,000 directly related to the event and the Ministry of Sound met additional costs itself. The event was carefully planned by staff at the Dome and representatives of the Ministry of Sound over a period of several weeks, resulting in an agreement between NMEC and the Ministry of Sound. The event took place in the "Skyscape" building situated on land adjacent to the Dome.
	For the 2001 new year's eve event in the Dome, English Partnerships received a total payment of £219,125 from Ministry of Sound—£75,000 as a basic hire charge and the remainder as a share of ticket revenue. In addition, Ministry of Sound paid for all the costs of organising the event.
	The records of NMEC show that maintenance costs for the Dome and site (in £000s) as borne by NMEC were as follows (calculated on a cash paid basis):
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 2000  
			 January 2,078 
			 February 1,897 
			 March 2,013 
			 April 1,868 
			 May 1,956 
			 June 1,802 
			 July 1,937 
			 August 1,705 
			 September 1,306 
			 October 1,492 
			 November 1,388 
			 December 1,543 
			   
			 2001  
			 January 280 
			 February 352 
			 March 357 
			 April 662 
			 May 773 
			 June -630 
			 July 59 
			 August 121 
			 September -498 
			 October 82 
			 November 28 
			 December 14 
		
	
	The figures for 2000 include insurance. The available figures for 2001 do not include insurance. It is estimated that the element of NMEC's insurance for 2001 which related to the Dome and site was approximately £700,000. It is not possible to apportion this to individual months. The figures for the last six months in 2001 relate to outstanding invoices and rebates for the first half of the year.
	Since English Partnerships took ownership of the Dome on 1 July 2001, their total running cost 1 expenditure incurred (in £000s) in relation to the Dome, broken down by month and calculated on an accruals basis, has been 2 :
	
		
			   £000 
		
		
			 July 223 
			 August 238 
			 September 220 
			 October 229 
			 November 275 
			 December 266 
		
	
	All these costs will be recovered from eventual sale proceeds.
	As regards the future use of the Dome, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, to my hon. Friend the Member for Eccles (Mr. Stewart) on 18 December 2001, Official Report, columns 220–21W.
	English Partnerships have been asked to explore further short-term events at the Dome and have received a number of approaches for events during 2002, on which discussions are continuing.
	1 Includes rates, utilities, security and maintenance, and EP staff costs on management and maintenance of the Dome.
	2 Subject to any reassessments by the relevant authorities, of rates or other charges included in the cost of managing and maintaining the Dome.

Millennium Dome

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will provide a breakdown of the monthly costs of maintaining the Millennium Dome until the contract with Meridian Delta has been completed, including (a) the cost of staff, advisers and details of their responsibilities, (b) maintenance and (c) other costs.

Sally Keeble: Since English Partnerships took ownership of the Dome on 1 July 2001, their total running cost 1 expenditure incurred in relation to the Dome, broken down by month and calculated on an accruals basis, has been 2 :
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 July 223 
			 August 238 
			 September 220 
			 October 229 
			 November 275 
			 December 266 
		
	
	During 2001 English Partnerships also incurred £6.1 million on decommissioning the Dome contents in preparation for a future use and £2.2 million in relation to the current sale process. The cost of the previous competition to find a long-term use for the Dome, which began in March 1999 and ended at the beginning of 2001, was £6.7 million.
	All these costs will be recovered from eventual sale proceeds.
	I will be pleased to write to the hon. Member informing him of monthly running costs figures in arrears, until the proposed deal with Meridian Delta Ltd is concluded.
	1 Includes rates, utilities, security and maintenance, and EP staff costs on management and maintenance of the Dome.
	2 Subject to any reassessments, by the relevant authorities, of rates or other charges included in the cost of managing and maintaining the Dome.

Strategic Rail Authority Strategic Plan

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what additional private investment is expected under the Strategic Rail Authority Plan between 2001–02 and 2011–12 in addition to the £16 billion in infrastructure enhancement and £7 billion in new trains, referred to on page 25 of the Strategic Rail Authority Strategic Plan.

David Jamieson: The strategic plan states that the total amount of private sector investment leveraged by this plan is expected to be very similar to that envisaged in the 10-Year Plan.
	This investment will cover enhancements to the network, new rolling stock, infrastructure renewals, additional freight infrastructure and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Railtrack

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he expects Railtrack to complete its asset register.

David Jamieson: In April 2001 the Rail Regulator amended Railtrack's network licence to require the company to create a complete and accurate register of the condition, capacity and capability of its assets. Railtrack is required to produce regular plans detailing how the company expects to ensure it has access to and knowledge of its assets. The next set of plans is due to be submitted to the regulator in April 2002, covering development of the register over the next two years.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2002, Official Report, column 376W, on Railtrack, how much public lending is being made available to remunerate these professional advisers.

David Jamieson: No public lending is being made available.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 783W, on Railtrack, if he will provide an updated schedule of the financial support given to the Railtrack administrator.

David Jamieson: Approximately £1.8 billion has been made available under the commercial loan agreement.

Railtrack

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2002, Official Report, column 1188W, on Railtrack, what assessment of those examples of companies limited by guarantee listed was carried out by his Department; and if he will place all related documentation in the Library.

David Jamieson: The outline proposal for a company limited by guarantee (CLG) as a possible successor to Railtrack was developed with regard to the model used for Glas Cymru and a variety of other organisations. No assessment of these organisations was carried out because the model needed to be developed to apply to the particular circumstances of the rail network operator, as outlined in the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Preston (Mr. Hendrick) on 23 October 2001, Official Report, columns 195–97W.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 783W, from which budgets or revenue sources additional finance could be granted to Railtrack in an interim review.

David Jamieson: Neither the outcome of any interim review nor the appropriate budget sources can be anticipated in advance.

London Underground

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what has been the increase in 2000 prices for fares in the London Underground in each of the last 10 years.

John Spellar: London Underground advise that data covering the complete range of individual ticket types available can be provided only at disproportionate cost. It has, however, produced the following table, which gives the increase in fares, in year 2000 prices, based upon revenue per passenger journey.
	
		
			  Revenue per passenger journey at 2000 prices (£)  Percentage change from previous year 
		
		
			 1990–91 0.911 — 
			 1991–92 0.945 3.80 
			 1992–93 0.996 5.40 
			 1993–94 1.05 5.40 
			 1994–95 1.108 5.60 
			 1995–96 1.114 0.60 
			 1996–97 1.151 3.30 
			 1997–98 1.165 1.30 
			 1998–99 1.18 1.20 
			 1999–2000 1.175 -0.40 
			 2000–01 1.164 -0.90

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the safety case which the Health and Safety Executive is required to produce for the London Underground PPP when the London Underground is transferred to Transport for London and the Greater London Assembly.

David Jamieson: Health and Safety Executive (HSE) assesses and considers safety cases for acceptance. It is for London Underground Ltd. to submit to HSE any material revision to its railway safety case that may arise from the transfer of the underground to Transport for London. The HSE has not yet received any revision to this effect.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the terms of reference of the original contract relating to the value for money assessment on the PPP carried out for his Department by Ernst and Young; and whether the contract allowed the specification of the final report to be altered by (a) his Department and (b) Ernst and Young (i) before and (ii) after it was written.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) on 23 November 2001, Official Report, column 493W. The terms of reference referred to in that answer were final and did not change, with the single exception of the deadline by which Ernst and Young were to report. This was necessarily tied to London Underground's own timing on its evaluation of bids.

Housing Benefit

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make it his policy to pay housing benefit for council tenants on the same basis as for tenants of registered social landlords; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the current arrangements in this regard.

Sally Keeble: The differences between the financial arrangements for local authorities and registered social landlords are largely a reflection of the fact that council housing finance regime is operated as a national system which seeks to share out the available resources as fairly as possible. We have no plans to change that.

M11 Link Road

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  what applications for compensation arising from the building of the M11 Link Road were received by the Highways Agency; how much has been allocated for payment of such compensation; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much was allocated to Transport for London to cover compensation commitments of the Highways Agency arising from the building of the M11 Link Road; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Papers relating to this scheme have been passed to Transport for London. However, it is unlikely that any claims for compensation for injurious effect by business or residents were received by the Highways Agency, since these must be made between one and six years after completion of the scheme.
	The Agency made provision of £19.8 million, over the period 2000–01 to 2004–05, for compensation claims in relation to road schemes transferring to Transport for London. The bulk of this amount related to the Hackney/M11 Link Road.
	These estimates were taken into account by Ministers in determining and making provision for GLA transport grant, which is a block grant paid for the purposes of Transport for London.

Traffic

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, what predicted traffic rates over the next (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 20 years the multi-modal studies are using.

David Jamieson: The multi-model studies do not use a pre-determined rate of traffic growth. Each study makes its own estimate of how traffic will grow in its study area over the study period. In each case, account is taken of study-specific factors such as changes in the numbers and location of households and workers, the level of current and future congestion, the availability of alternative modes of transport and the implementation of local demand restraint measures.

Bridges (Somerset)

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what grants have been made available to North Somerset council for bridge strengthening and related works in each of the last three years.

David Jamieson: holding answer 28 February 2002
	The Government are committed to halting the deterioration in local road conditions by 2004 and to eliminating the backlogs in carriageway, footway, bridge and street lighting maintenance by 2010. Over £30 billion for local road maintenance will be provided over the next 10 years, an extra £9 billion (41 per cent.) above the funding levels in the previous 10 years—an increase of 23 per cent. in real terms. This extra money will allow us to tackle the substantial backlog in local road maintenance due to past under-investment.
	North Somerset council have received the following grant allocations for highway maintenance and bridge strengthening works over the last three years. The figures for the financial years 2000–01 and 2001–02 have been allocated under the Local Transport Plan process. However the allocation given for the preceding year 1999–2000 was administered under the previous Transport Policies and Programmes process.
	
		Highway maintenance and bridge strengthening
		
			 Allocation £000 
		
		
			 1999–2000 686 
			 2000–01 895 
			 2001–02 3,173

Railway Industry

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 791W, on the railway industry, up to what total amount the Government will guarantee these loan facilities.

David Jamieson: The guarantee will be sufficient, within the limits of the state aid clearance, to cover principal, interest and other fees and expenses under the facility.

Railway Industry

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2002, Official Report, column 589W, on railway policy, what non-public consultation took place on the change of structure in his Department.

David Jamieson: This was an internal management matter of re-allocation of resources in response to changes in demand. No other consultations took place.

Shoreham Port Authority

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the occasions on which he has declined to reappoint members of the board of Shoreham port authority or declined to confirm candidates nominated.

John Spellar: holding answer 28 February 2002
	The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Airport Security

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  how many people were employed in the UK to oversee the security of baggage at UK airports in each year since 1990;
	(2)  what investigations are made into the background of potential staff employed to oversee the security of baggage at UK airports;
	(3)  what recent assessment the Government have made of the pay levels for people employed to oversee the security of baggage at UK airports;
	(4)  what recent discussions he has had with companies in the air transport industry regarding the pay associated with those employed to oversee the security of baggage at UK airports;
	(5)  what recent estimate the Government have made of (a) the turnover of staff employed to oversee the security of baggage at UK airports; and (b) the impact this has on the security of airport baggage;
	(6)  what training is required for staff employed to oversee the security of baggage at UK airports.

David Jamieson: My Department is responsible for prescribing the security measures required at UK airports and for monitoring compliance. Our measures are implemented by the aviation industry, under the requirements of legally binding directions.
	Directions have been issued to all UK airports and airlines operating in the UK relating to, among other things, the recruitment and training of staff involved in specified security duties. The specified duties include the screening of baggage. In respect of recruitment, the criteria for security staff require a five year employment record check and a counter terrorist check. Our training directions require staff to undergo appropriate training modules applicable to the security functions they will be undertaking. These requirements apply regardless of whether the airports/airlines use directly employed security staff, or those of private security companies who they have engaged as agents.
	Airports, airlines, and security firms are private companies and staffing matters, including pay issues, numbers of staff engaged, and staff turnover, are entirely management issues for those companies. We therefore do not collate figures on total staff numbers or turnover.

Motor Vehicles

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 25 February, 2002 Official Report, column 871W, on motor vehicles, why data have not been included for the (a) Craigleith, (b) Moredun and (c) Newington wards.

David Jamieson: The answer of 25 February said that the vehicle data were available for analysis only by pre-1996 definitions of Scottish wards. Edinburgh constituencies did not include Craigleith, Moredun or Newington wards under this definition.

Motor Vehicles

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many motor vehicles are licensed for use on Britain's roads.

David Jamieson: The number of motor vehicles licensed in Great Britain in September 2001, the latest data available, was 29,676,258.

Pilots

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the (a) years and (b) pilotage areas of serious pilotage errors since 1980; and how many inquiries have been (a) instituted, (b) completed and (c) published.

David Jamieson: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Airports

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which consultants have been commissioned in the SERAS study of the economic and environmental impacts of airport expansion; and which studies have been commissioned that are independent of the aviation industry and the Government.

David Jamieson: At various stages of the SERAS technical work the following consultants have been commissioned to support the core economic and environmental appraisal of a wide range of options:
	Halcrow Group Ltd (also acting as the managing consultants of the SERAS study), Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Co Ltd, CAA Environmental Research and Consultancy Department, AEA Technology Environment and Qinetiq (formerly DERA).
	The SERAS study has been undertaken for the Government alone, advised by a reference group comprising a wide range of external representatives, including regional and local government, environmental organisations and airport consultative committees, as well as aviation industry interests.
	I am unaware of the details of other independent studies.

Airports

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how the SERAS study of the environmental impact of airport expansion reflects criticisms of Leq as a noise measure by the Terminal Five Inquiry report; and how the study will incorporate noise disturbance above the World Health Organisation target level (50dB Leq) but below the primary measure of 57dB Leq.

David Jamieson: The SERAS study uses Leq as the primary measure for daytime aircraft noise as, on the basis of available evidence, it is the most appropriate single index of the overall noise climate. The study will include information about noise impacts down to the 54 Leq level, as stated in the appraisal framework published in November 2000.
	Further research has been commissioned to reassess attitudes to aircraft noise. This was announced in May last year and underlines the Government's commitment to underpin our policy on aircraft noise by substantial research.

Airports

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what account is being taken in the SERAS study of the environmental impact of airport expansion of (a) ozone emissions, (b) sulphur dioxide emissions and (c) carbon dioxide.

David Jamieson: The Appraisal Framework for Airports in the South East and Eastern Regions of England published in November 2000 following widespread consultation, sets out the indicators used for assessing impacts of airport development options in the SERAS study.
	The study has included an assessment of the impact on carbon dioxide emissions under a range of future scenarios. Ozone and sulphur dioxide emissions were not assessed.

Airports

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what methodology is being employed in the SERAS study of the employment effects of airport expansion to capture the impact of (a) labour scarcity, (b) housing scarcity in the South East of England and (c) employment in the regions.

David Jamieson: An appraisal of the employment impacts arising from a wide range of airport development options has been undertaken in SERAS. The objective has been to identify demands on the local labour and housing markets and to assess any resulting urbanisation pressures. The broad appraisal methodology is set down in The Appraisal Framework for Airports in the South East and Eastern Regions of England published in November 2000. The regional airport studies have assessed the effects on employment in the regions of a range of scenarios relating to airport capacity in the South East.

Departmental Expenditure Limits

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to amend his departmental expenditure Limits and running cost limits for 2001–02.

Alan Whitehead: Departmental expenditure limits and the administration costs limit are amended throughout the year according to need and the parliamentary timetable for Supplementary Estimates. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions announced changes for 2001–02 in written answers on 22 June 2001, Official Report, columns 12–13W, 28 November 2001, Official Report, columns 948–52W and 13 February 2002, Official Report, columns 398–401W. There are no plans for further changes until the end of the financial year.

Social Housing

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish the allocations of capital housing expenditure for each year since 1992 for each London borough broken down into (a) repairs to local authority property, (b) repairs to regulated social landlord property, (c) new local authority build and (d) new regulated social landlord property.

Sally Keeble: The total allocations made by central Government to London boroughs to support their housing capital programmes in the years since 1992–93 are given in the table. Apart from the major repairs allowance (MRA), which was introduced in 2001–02 to provide resources to meet the on-going capital costs of maintaining the council housing stock, the resources are not generally allocated for particular types of expenditure. Details of the MRA allocations are available in the Library.
	
		Housing capital allocations to London boroughs, 1992–93 to 2002–03 -- £000
		
			   1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 London total 539,255 529,146 422,485 410,295 391,598 326,985 390,237 399,263 613,482 730,034 736,701 
			 Barking and Dagenham 7,675 6,832 5,470 5,558 6,091 6,294 9,741 9,550 15,720 20,053 20,738 
			 Barnet 10,245 11,687 10,742 9,033 9,367 6,602 7,380 6,957 10,186 14,323 15,354 
			 Bexley 5,250 4,767 3,626 3,659 3,157 3,525 4,456 3,113 2,665 2,494 2,607 
			 Brent 20,543 16,379 14,875 16,656 16,286 14,159 14,656 13,877 21,309 25,514 24,322 
			 Bromley 10,599 8,163 5,454 5,053 4,124 3,137 2,931 2,911 3,342 2,678 3,074 
			 Camden 25,100 24,495 18,700 18,019 16,977 13,428 18,072 19,450 32,394 41,010 39,817 
			 City of London 705 862 697 836 632 548 620 597 1,050 2,015 2,060 
			 Croydon 20,395 23,105 19,088 17,542 16,975 11,362 9,088 10,082 13,900 17,001 17,802 
			 Ealing 20,191 16,610 13,278 14,077 11,882 10,556 12,352 12,504 19,406 24,045 23,634 
			 Enfield 19,480 15,989 11,620 10,630 9,876 8,009 8,336 7,801 10,368 14,563 15,890 
			 Greenwich 15,973 22,136 18,706 18,615 16,770 13,430 14,393 16,952 28,142 31,907 31,652 
			 Hackney 29,834 29,700 23,538 26,531 25,960 20,256 22,370 25,166 37,481 40,199 42,735 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 18,007 16,817 13,442 14,296 14,144 11,914 13,572 15,782 23,844 26,134 24,887 
			 Haringey 27,894 23,661 19,749 18,404 15,777 13,928 15,887 15,809 28,199 32,667 34,258 
			 Harrow 7,440 7,600 5,933 5,750 5,137 4,031 4,011 3,878 6,430 8,407 8,648 
			 Havering 6,926 6,053 4,878 4,372 3,716 3,371 4,400 4,507 6,548 11,309 11,707 
			 Hillingdon 14,445 16,924 13,042 12,439 11,383 7,854 7,464 7,798 11,481 14,127 13,923 
			 Hounslow 15,825 13,919 11,819 11,628 10,717 7,757 8,252 7,685 11,098 15,531 15,673 
			 Islington 27,161 24,166 20,970 19,651 16,629 15,084 18,862 18,150 28,557 38,297 40,237 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 12,445 11,325 9,296 10,142 10,504 8,053 9,899 10,625 16,395 18,727 17,829 
			 Kingston upon Thames 5,282 4,305 3,842 4,730 4,417 3,166 3,399 3,238 4,428 5,903 6,351 
			 Lambeth 30,781 32,885 22,841 20,167 20,578 17,849 24,073 23,762 37,832 46,329 45,168 
			 Lewisham 16,180 18,376 14,728 14,499 15,062 14,298 19,574 22,135 32,410 36,837 35,394 
			 Merton 7,602 7,734 6,149 6,287 5,671 4,474 5,014 5,282 6,492 7,728 8,163 
			 Newham 22,534 30,483 26,452 23,266 24,459 19,876 22,536 20,441 36,127 39,475 41,826 
			 Redbridge 9,695 9,271 8,216 7,201 6,631 5,317 5,875 5,643 6,593 8,490 8,539 
			 Richmond upon Thames 9,715 7,493 6,883 6,896 6,674 4,857 5,020 4,287 5,697 2,930 3,243 
			 Southwark 24,596 25,370 17,484 18,859 19,414 20,129 27,752 29,229 45,946 52,921 54,739 
			 Sutton 5,475 5,273 4,981 4,973 5,093 4,145 4,662 5,281 6,063 8,646 8,847 
			 Tower Hamlets 20,674 21,623 16,620 15,083 14,056 13,611 21,211 21,907 34,594 37,844 39,244 
			 Waltham Forest 20,365 14,134 9,726 9,995 9,949 8,749 11,557 12,933 22,418 24,834 23,666 
			 Wandsworth 28,186 25,809 19,022 17,024 16,252 13,874 18,006 16,330 20,832 27,896 26,937 
			 Westminster 22,038 25,196 20,620 18,424 17,238 13,342 14,816 15,601 25,535 29,197 27,737 
		
	
	Note:
	Excluding funding for Estate Action, which is now part of the Single Regeneration Budget, and Arms Length Management Organisations.

Local Government Finance

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the value was of the Government's local government financial settlement for Cities of London and Westminster for each year from 1978–79 to 2001–02; and what the percentage increase was in each year.

Alan Whitehead: Information on allocations to individual authorities in years before 1990 is no longer held centrally. The table gives figures for Standard Spending Assessments (SSA) for the two authorities from 1990–91 to 2001–02, and the percentage increase in each year after adjusting for changes in function or funding responsibilities:
	
		
			  SSA £ million Increase per cent. 
		
		
			 City of London   
			 1990–91 41.6 — 
			 1991–92 42.7 2.5 
			 1992–93 44.5 4.2 
			 1993–94 48.3 10.2 
			 1994–95 69.9 44.6 
			 1995–96 65.9 -6.3 
			 1996–97 62.1 -5.9 
			 1997–98 63.0 1.2 
			 1998–99 46.3 -26.6 
			 1999–2000 48.2 4.2 
			 2000–01 49.2 3.1 
			 2001–02 50.8 3.4 
			 2002–03 54.6 9.0 
			 Westminster   
			 1990–91 172.2 — 
			 1991–92 210.3 22.1 
			 1992–93 228.0 8.4 
			 1993–94 221.4 1.3 
			 1994–95 220.3 -1.6 
			 1995–96 241.8 2.4 
			 1996–97 241.3 -1.8 
			 1997–98 249.4 2.0 
			 1998–99 232.6 -8.0 
			 1999–2000 244.8 5.2 
			 2000–01 257.1 5.4 
			 2001–02 275.3 7.2 
			 2002–03 290.3 8.4

Local Government Finance

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the increase in (a) standard spending assessment and (b) council tax between the previous and current financial years was for the Cities of (i) London (ii) Westminster.

Alan Whitehead: The table shows the increases in standard spending assessments (SSA) after adjusting for changes in function or funding responsibilities and own band D Council Tax between the previous (2000–01) and current (2001–02) financial years.
	
		
			 Authority 2000–01 £ 2001–02 £ Percentage increase 
		
		
			 City of London
			 SSA 49.122(12) 50.779(12) 3.4 
			 Own band D council 525 548 4.4 
			 Tax — — — 
			 
			 Westminster
			 SSA 256.827(12) 275.285(12) 7.2 
			 Own band D council 235 259 10.2 
			 Tax — — — 
		
	
	(12) £ million.

Rail Punctuality

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what reason (a) his Department and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority do not (i) hold centrally, (ii) collate, (iii) make publicly available and (iv) place in the Library the monthly figures on the punctuality of train operating companies as published at mainline stations.

David Jamieson: The punctuality of the train operating companies and the rail network is measured using the Public Performance Measure (PPM). PPM data are published quarterly by the SRA, are placed in the Library and on the SRA website. The next publication on 18 March will include information on individual train operating companies. The information on train punctuality and reliability published by train operating companies at mainline stations is Passenger Charter data.
	PPM replaced the Passenger's Charter as the means of measuring passenger train performance in June 2000 to provide better information on the actual performance of Britain's passenger rail. It combines figures for punctuality and reliability into a single performance measure. It covers all scheduled services, seven days a week. It measures the performance of individual trains against their planned timetable.
	Passenger Charter forms the basis of season ticket refunds. It only covers some trains, broadly defined as weekday am and pm peak services in the south-east and all day Monday to Saturday elsewhere. There are some variations between train operating companies.

Railway Investment

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the total public sector investment in the railways was in 1995–96; and what it will be in 2010–11 in real terms based on 2001 prices.

David Jamieson: Total investment in rail in 1995–96 was around £1.25 billion in 2000–01 prices which, within a mainly public sector rail industry, was all classified as public sector investment. Through the 10-year Plan, total investment in rail in 2010–11 is projected to be £3.6 billion in 2000–01 prices, of which £0.95 billion is estimated to directly funded public sector investment.

Railway Investment

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if his Department has conducted a sensitivity analysis on the impact of changes to the rate of return required by private sector investment in the 10-year plan.

David Jamieson: My Department has not carried out such an analysis.

Rail Safety

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much his Department has spent on rail-related safety issues in each of the last three years.

David Jamieson: Total rail safety expenditure by Government and the rail industry is not recorded in a manner to allow spending on safety to be identified separately. Much transport expenditure simultaneously delivers improvements in safety as well as other benefits.

Rail Safety

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of the ratio between total rail safety spending in the United Kingdom and the number of passenger and freight journeys each year.

David Jamieson: None.

Road Network

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he plans to privatise the main road network.

David Jamieson: Private companies have had an important role in road building and maintenance for many years and the 10-year plan assumes that around 25 per cent. of new investment by value will be funded by the private sector. However there are no plans to transfer ownership of the road network to the private sector.

Spring Supply Estimates

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what purpose item lxxiv on page 8 of the Spring Supply Estimates is being transferred.

David Jamieson: The purpose for which item lxxiv on page 8 of the Spring Supplementary Estimates 2001–02 is being transferred is explained in item lxxxii on page 9 of those estimates.

Western Region Trains

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the Passengers Charter measuring points are for train (a) punctuality and (b) performance on the Western Region franchise.

David Jamieson: First Great Western single, return and weekly season ticket holders are compensated for journeys that are delayed by one hour or more. The threshold for compensating other season ticket holders is below 88 per cent. for punctuality and 98.2 per cent. for reliability.

Traffic Management

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment his Department makes of the impact of traffic management schemes in London on overall traffic flows.

David Jamieson: Assessment of the impact of traffic management schemes in London is the responsibility of Transport for London and the boroughs.
	The Department makes forecasts of overall traffic flows, using the National Transport Model, and outputs from TfL's London Transportation Studies model. These are strategic models and do not represent every investment in the transport network in detail. In general, individual traffic management schemes are too small to be represented in either model and their impacts are modelled by the Department in aggregate.

High Hedges

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what action he has taken on legislation to control the nuisance caused by Leylandii and other high hedges.

Sally Keeble: The Government will introduce legislation giving local authorities the power to deal with complaints about high hedges as soon as there is space in the parliamentary timetable. We supported the Private Member's Bill on this issue introduced by the hon. Member for Solihull (Mr. Taylor) in the last session of Parliament and were disappointed that the Bill failed to complete all its stages before the election.
	Guidelines commissioned by my Department, which provide an objective method for assessing whether high hedges block out too much light to adjoining properties, were published on our website in December. These guidelines are likely to be a factor for local authorities to take into account when determining complaints under a future statutory scheme. In the meantime, we want to encourage people to apply the guidelines and use the results to settle disputes with their neighbours amicably. We are preparing a leaflet specifically designed for this purpose, which we expect to launch in the spring.

Road Accidents

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent assessment he has made of the annual cost of road crashes including those crashes not reported to the police.

David Jamieson: The value of prevention of injury accidents reported to the police in 2000 is estimated to be £12,170 million. A further £4,790 million is attributed to damage only accidents which are generally not reported to the police.

Electoral Register

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will provide advice to local authorities on the supply of copies of electoral registers following the judgment in the Robertson case; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Whitehead: holding answer 4 March 2002
	The Robertson case raises complex and difficult legal and policy issues in relation to the sale of electoral registers which we and the Electoral Commission are currently considering very carefully. It is for the Electoral Commission to issue advice to local authorities in this matter and it has already posted interim advice on its website.

Traffic Congestion

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how the Galileo navigation system may be deployed to tackle road traffic congestion; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: holding answer 4 March 2002
	How and when Galileo could be deployed to help tackle road traffic congestion will depend on timing and technical decisions yet to be taken.
	Satellite navigation is used as an embedded technology in many intelligent transport systems (ITS) such as in-car navigation, passenger and traffic information, vehicle tracking and fleet management systems. It has the potential to be used in road user charging.
	At present ITS use data from the US Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. The European Commission has proposed that Galileo be developed as an independent satellite navigation system but inter-operable with GPS. The Transport Council on 26 March is expected to take decisions on the development and validation phase (2002–05) of Galileo. Subject to this work, further decisions would be required to proceed to deploy Galileo and begin operation in 2008. In principle, therefore, Galileo and GPS could jointly provide a navigation service from that date.

School Bus Schemes

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to implement fully the provisions of the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations in respect of yellow school bus schemes; and if he will make a statement on reasons for which the pilot schemes were exempted from the regulations.

Sally Keeble: The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations apply to new vehicles used on local or scheduled services where passengers are carried at separate fares. The key features of the yellow bus scheme are that it is only open to children and non-fare paying adults, that each child has a designated seat, and that the scheme is being monitored by my Department. Exemptions were given from two provisions of the regulations dealing with route and destination information, and improved seat dimensions. The exemptions will be reviewed in the light of the results of the monitoring. The vehicles comply with all other aspects of the regulations.

Structure Plan (Gloucestershire)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the Third Review of the Structure Plan in Gloucestershire.

Sally Keeble: holding answer 5 March 2002
	Gloucestershire county council have started the process of reviewing their structure plan, following the adoption in November 1999 of Gloucestershire Structure Plan 2nd Review to 2011. The county put out an Issues Paper for consultation, between 12 February and 30 March 2001. Responses to the Issues Paper were considered by the county in July 2001. A Draft Deposit Plan is due to be published during winter 2002. Further details for the structure plan timetable are yet to be confirmed.

Private Finance (Merseyside)

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of local private sector participation in the Merseyside Objective 1 1994–99 programme with reference to the role outlined in the Single Programming Document.

Sally Keeble: The involvement of the private sector was positively encouraged as part of the partnership implementing of the 1994–99 Merseyside Objective 1 programme, and a representative from the Liverpool chamber of commerce was appointed as the private sector co-ordinator to the programme. The financial tables in the programme also included a private sector contribution and we expect this to be fully delivered.

Congestion Charging

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will approve the general plan for the spending of the net proceeds from the proposed London congestion charging scheme.

David Jamieson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has today approved the general plan.
	In deciding to approve the plan, my right hon. Friend has had regard to the relevant statutory requirements. In particular, paragraph 16(1) of Schedule 23 to the GLA Act 1999 provides that "the net proceeds of the scheme shall, during the scheme's initial period 10 years beginning with the coming into force of the scheme be available only for application for relevant transport purposes". And "relevant transport purpose" is defined in paragraph 1 of Schedule 23 as "any purpose which directly or indirectly facilitates the implementation of any policies or proposals set out in the Mayor's transport strategy". Paragraph 16(5) of Schedule 23 provides that "the net proceeds of charging schemes may only be applied for purposes which provide value for money".
	My right hon. Friend has had regard to all the representations to Ministers about the general plan including those set out in the letter of 2 November 2001 from Councillor Kit Malthouse of the City of Westminster to my right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has also had regard to those representations about the general plan submitted to Transport for London (TfL), to TfL's report which they submitted to the Mayor on 8 February about those representations, and to the Mayor's comments on them set out in his letter of 18 February to my right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is satisfied that the general plan is consistent with the Mayor's transport strategy (which he has considered previously). He is also satisfied that the general plan enables the net proceeds to be applied for purposes which provide value for money. In this regard, my right hon. Friend considers that the general plan and the transport strategy are consistent with the Government's 10-year transport plan.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Entertainment Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list for 1997–98 and each subsequent financial year the amount spent by (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies in respect of hotel and other similar privately provided accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad for (A) Ministers, (B) staff and (C) other persons; if she will list the proportion of this cost incurred in respect of (x) food and (y) alcohol in each case; and if she will list the average cost per hotel room or similar unit of accommodation provided in each case.

Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 14 February 2002, Official Report, column 560W.

Focus Groups

David Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many focus groups her Department has convened since June 2001; and if she will list the topics discussed;
	(2)  if she will place a copy of the discussions held with focus groups convened by her Department since June 2001 in the Library.

Ivan Lewis: The Department commissions research involving focus groups for two main purposes: to help develop and evaluate publicity campaigns; and to understand the attitudes to education and skills issues of key groups, like teachers, parents, students and others affected by the Department's policies.
	Research projects involving focus groups convened since June 2001 covered: adult basic skills; higher education; modern apprenticeships; science year; Connexions; young persons' communications; information, advice and guidance branding; matriculation diploma; dads and sons booklet; child care recruitment; foundation degrees; and the money to learn booklet.
	I have placed a copy of the report of research into attitudes of key groups to modern apprenticeships in the House of Commons Library. I will place in the Library the report of research into attitudes to various higher education issues in due course when the research and report are completed. All those other research projects which have been completed and which involve focus groups are commercial in confidence as they tested creative work commissioned from advertising agencies as part of the development of advertising campaigns.

Capita

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what information concerning individual learning account holders has been deleted from electronic databases held by Capita;
	(2)  when Capita took the decision to delete information relating to individual learning account holders; whether she was informed of such action; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The only information concerning individual learning account holders deleted from the individual learning account centre system has been that resulting from regular housekeeping such as to remove inaccurate information, duplicated entries or data input in error.

Rural Schools

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funds the rural school grant scheme has to distribute in 2001–02; and by what means these will be distributed.

John Healey: The Department does not fund a rural schools grant scheme. However, rural schools can benefit from a number of programmes, including those that aim to help small schools. The school standards grant of £7,000 for 2001–02 is paid via local education authorities (LEAs) to schools with 100 pupils or less. There is also the small schools fund worth a total of £80 million a year, guaranteed until 2004. It is allocated to LEAs according to the number of primary and special schools with 200 pupils or less and secondary schools with 600 pupils or less. LEAs have to devolve at least 95 per cent. of the money to schools, either using the Department's threshold for small schools or by setting their own, lower thresholds. The funding is particularly intended to support collaborative projects, such as shared bursars or pooled administrative staff. An element of it can be spent on extending hours of existing administrative staff, buying in staff cover or investing in ICT equipment.

Circulars

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the circular documents that were sent by the Department for Education and Employment to (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools between 1 May 1997 and 6 June 2001; and how many pages each document contained.

Stephen Timms: The following table 1 shows the total number of documents sent to schools between 1 May 1997 and 6 June 2001. The full lists of titles are contained in tables 2 and 3, updating the list placed in conjunction with a parliamentary answer given to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 6 April 2001, Official Report, column 313W.
	
		Table 1: Mailings to all primary or all secondary schools by school year
		
			  Items Primary Items Secondary 
		
		
			 1997–98(13) 86 85 
			 1998–99 96 115 
			 1999–2000 146 164 
			 2000–01(14) 64 63 
		
	
	(13) From 1 May 1997
	(14) Up to 6 June 2001
	
		Table 2: DfEE communications with all primary or secondary schools 1 April to 6 June 2001
		
			   Page number 
		
		
			 April 2001  
			 The National Numeracy Strategy: Professional Development Pack: 3 and 4 811 
			 Parent governor representatives on local authority committees dealing with education: notification of guidance 1 
			 Policy and Consultation Note on Formula Allocation 16 
			 The School Organisation Proposals by the Learning and Skills Council for England Regulations 2001 15 
			 Key Stage 1–3 Regulations 3 
			 School Teachers' Pay 2001–02. (Confirmation of pay settlement) 7 
			   
			 May 2001  
			 Key Stage 3 National Strategy: Framework for Teaching English: Years 7, 8 and 9—Management Summary 13 
			 Response to the Consultation on School Governing Bodies (letter from Jacqui Smith) 2 
			 Briefing note on organising teacher training 2 
			 Developing Early Writing—The National Literacy Strategy (booklet and CD) 169 
			 Spectrum 42 12 
			 Survey of Absences in Schools 5 
		
	
	
		Table 3: Secondary
		
			   Page number  
		
		
			 April 2001:  
			 Parent governor representatives on local authority committees dealing with education: notification of guidance 1 
			 Policy and Consultation Note on Formula Allocation 16 
			 The School Organisation Proposals by the learning and Skills Council for England Regulations 2001 15 
			 Key Stage 1–3 Regulations 3 
			 School Teachers Pay' 2001–02 (confirmation of pay settlement) 7 
			 Key Stage 3 National Strategy—Publication Summary 1 
			 Key Stage 3 National Strategy—Letter from Secretary of State 2 
			   
			 May 2001  
			 Key Stage 3 National Strategy: Framework for Teaching English: Years 7, 8 and 9—Management Summary 13 
			 Response to the Consultation on School Governing Bodies (letter from Jacqui Smith) 2 
			 Child Protection: Handling Allegations against Teachers and Other Staff: appointment of Coordinators 2 
			 Briefing note on organising teacher training 2 
			 Key stage 3 National Strategy: Framework for teaching English: Years 7, 8 and 9 75 
			 Spectrum 42 12 
			 Survey of Absences in Schools 5 
			 Key Stage 3 National Strategy: Framework for Teaching Mathematics: Years 7, 8 and 9 Management Summary 11

School Federations

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations her Department has received from schools wishing to form federations of schools; and if she will list the schools which would be included in each federation.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 28 February 2002
	No official representations have been received. As arrangements for the establishment of federations of schools will be governed by regulations under clauses 23 and 24 of the Education Bill, which have yet to be made, there is no statutory mechanism for considering federation proposals.

PFI

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if her Department maintains a list of PFI-funded projects.

Ivan Lewis: My Department maintains a list of projects, available on the DfES internet website www.dfes.gov.uk/ppppfi, procured under the public- private partnerships/private finance initiative (PPP/PFI).

Design Champion

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what is the role of the design champion in her Department.

Ivan Lewis: The DfES designated design champion is the Director of Strategy and Communications, whose responsibilities include promoting best practice design principles in the work of the Department. The design champion role involved raising awareness across the Department of the benefits to policy making and service delivery of good design management. In fulfilling this role, the Director of Strategy and Communications worked with the Design Council and other Departments on a series of best practice procedures that were subsequently incorporated into departmental guidance on, and prominence given to, project management. He also helped the Design Council produce a handbook of case studies in which good design had led to better outcomes. This included the creation of the Westminster suite at Caxton house, the learning journey handbook for parents and improved organisation and colour coding, etc. of materials being sent into schools.

Volunteers

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many members of her staff in each of the past two years have been granted a day's paid leave to work as a volunteer; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not keep central records of paid leave which staff have been granted to work as volunteers. The DfES fully supports voluntary public service and offers staff paid leave for some voluntary activities.

Schools (Commercial Activities)

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on her Department's policy with regard to the control of commercial activity within maintained schools by companies wishing to sell goods to pupils.

Stephen Timms: While we welcome business support for education, it is for schools themselves to decide whether to accept business sponsorship of educational activities or the sale of goods to pupils. We issued guidelines entitled "Best Practice Principles: Commercial Activities in Schools" last year to help schools make informed and sensible decisions about the nature of business involvement. The guidelines make clear that schools should satisfy themselves that the educational benefits of the commercial activity outweigh the potential disbenefits; that explicit sales messages should be avoided wherever possible; and that the level of any branding should be appropriate to the activity.

Examination Papers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she will take to ensure that all examination papers for A-levels will arrive on time.

Ivan Lewis: In its review of Curriculum 2000: Report on Phase Two, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has stated that it will set challenging targets and performance indicators for the awarding bodies. The Joint Council for General Qualifications—the umbrella organisation for the awarding bodies—will expedite further work that it is undertaking on common labels for question paper packets.

Examination Papers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she will take to ensure that no exam scripts are lost after being returned to the examination board.

Ivan Lewis: The awarding bodies, which are independent non-profit making enterprises, are responsible for their own arrangements for the storage of scripts.

Examination Papers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she will take to ensure that examination boards inform schools and colleges about re-mark grades before students move on to further and higher education.

Ivan Lewis: Since 1999, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has set targets for the awarding bodies to meet all requests for remarking and appeals. The agreed targets for the two stages of the awarding bodies' appeals process are:
	Inquiry stage
	where requests are received within seven days of the publication of results. Remarking should be completed within 30 calendar days. This service is a priority service available only to A and AS level candidates whose higher education places may be dependent on a remark.
	where requests are received after the seven days of the publication of results but before 20 September, they should be completed within 40 calendar days. This service is available for all candidates.
	second stage
	The second or formal appeal stage should be completed by 14 February.
	Data for awarding bodies' performance in 2001 against these targets will be published by QCA later in the month. In 2000 95 per cent. of A/AS level inquiries and 93 per cent. of GCSE inquiries where completed within the target time.

Examination Papers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the loss of psychology examination scripts from Runshaw College by Edexcel.

Ivan Lewis: Runshaw College requested the return of 84 psychology scripts, 78 scripts were sent back to the college. Of the six that were missing, two had been transferred to Edexcel's script archive before the college requested the scripts. These are being returned to the college. Four scripts have been mislaid. Edexcel will continue to search for them urgently.

Examination Papers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement (a) on the failure of AQA to re-mark scripts from Runshaw College before 17 October 2001 and (b) on its provision only of provisional marks.

Ivan Lewis: Inquiries about A level results received within one week of the publication of results are treated as priority cases. The response time laid down by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is 30 days from receipt of the inquiry. Inquiries received after one week of publication of results have a target response time of 40 days from receipt. On 17 October there were four inquiries that were unresolved for Runshaw College. The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) received these inquiries on 19 September, one day before the closing date for inquiries. They were completed by 29 October.
	All Statements of Results are printed as "Provisional". These results can be subject to amendment and are confirmed by the issue of a Certificate some four weeks after the publication of results.

Examination Papers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she will take to ensure that there is a consistency of marking throughout examination boards.

Ivan Lewis: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority as regulator of the public examination system is responsible for the maintenance of standards. They operate a range of mechanisms to check the examination process, and police and monitor a code of practice, which all awarding bodies must adhere to. The code of practice—which is a public document—is designed to promote quality and consistency in the examining process across all awarding bodies. It helps to ensure that grading standards are constant in each subject across different awarding bodies and different syllabuses from year to year.

Examination Papers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she is taking with respect to the examination boards who have failed to provide the service required in order to ensure that the errors and faults that occurred last year do not occur again.

Ivan Lewis: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), as the regulatory body, is responsible for monitoring the performance of the awarding bodies. QCA has recently published audit reports on two awarding bodies, Edexcel and the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, which made a number of recommendations for improvements to the delivery of services. QCA is monitoring the implementation of the recommendations to ensure that they improve their performance in coming months and are able to deliver the examinations in summer 2002 and beyond efficiently.

Specialist Schools

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of applications for specialist school status were successful in 2001.

Stephen Timms: A total of 423 applications for specialist school status were received in 2001 of which 218, or 51.5 per cent., were successful.

Individual Learning Accounts

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans the Government have to replace the individual learning account.

John Healey: There will be a replacement ILA-type scheme building on the strengths of the ILA and taking into account the findings of the current stakeholder consultation exercise, which are due in early April.

Modern Apprenticeship Schemes

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what Government initiatives are in place to attract capable young people to advanced modern apprenticeship schemes.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 4 March 2002
	Last November, at the launch of the new generation of modern apprenticeships, the Secretary of State announced a £16 million marketing campaign, to be run over three years in England, to promote apprenticeships and boost participation. That campaign, led jointly by the Department and the Learning and Skills Council, started on 4 March. A new television advertisement, aimed at young people, will run throughout March from today.
	We have also now agreed with the Learning and Skills Council a detailed implementation plan for the strengthening and expansion of new generation modern apprenticeships, in line with the recommendations of the MA Advisory Committee chaired by Sir John Cassels. From the spring, a range of marketing measures will be introduced to reach not only young people, but also key influencers and employers. At the local level, Learning and Skills Councils, Connexions Partnerships, careers services and other partners will work together to raise awareness of, and foster support for, modern apprenticeships; and to provide young people with essential information and advice on the opportunities available in their communities. This action supports the Government's aims for stronger vocational and work-based learning for young people, as announced in our Green Paper published recently.

Ministerial Meetings

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings Ministers in her Department have held with the Minister for Children and Young People since June 2001; what the date of each meeting was; which Ministers were present; and what subjects were discussed.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 4 March 2002
	In accordance with Part II of the Open Government Code of Practice, it is not the practice to disclose details of such internal discussions.

Public Appointments (Warrington, North)

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people from Warrington, North she has appointed to non-departmental public bodies since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 5 March 2002
	Nobody with a home address in the parliamentary constituency of Warrington, North has been appointed to a non-departmental public body sponsored by my Department since 1997.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Romania

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the official diaries of the British Ambassador to Romania, covering meetings with businessmen from Britain over the period June and July 2001, are available.

Jack Straw: holding answer 4 March 2002
	As is the normal practice, the Ambassador's diaries covering the period are held in the British Embassy Bucharest. It is not our policy to release internal diaries.

Romania

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department invited the Romanian Government to visit Britain in November 2001.

Peter Hain: holding answer 28 February 2002
	The Romanian Prime Minister was invited by the CBI in June 2001 to speak at their annual conference on 6 November. On the advice of the FCO, the Prime Minister agreed to a meeting with Mr. Nastase during this visit.

Romania

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department (a) made and (b) received regarding Romania's accession to the EU following the successful acquisition of the SIDEX steel plant by LNM/Ispat International.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 February 2002, Official Report, columns 611–12W.

Non-governmental Organisations

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list non- governmental organisations operating in the South West Region that receive public funds from his Department; and what amount of annual funding they received in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Jack Straw: The information is not available in the format requested and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Angola

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the prospects for peace in Angola; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The recent death of UNITA leader, Jonas Savimbi, offers Angola a unique opportunity to move the peace process forwards, after nearly three decades of civil war. We look to the Government of Angola to take the initiative in building dialogue. We call on the Angolans to respond positively.
	This is also a chance for the Government of Angola to turn their full attention to addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis and the rebuilding of Angola's infrastructure.

Angola

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to hold discussions with the Angolan Government.

Denis MacShane: We have invited Foreign Minister Miranda of Angola to visit the UK at the end of March. During his visit he will hold substantive bilateral discussions with UK Ministers.

Non-Refoulement

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU on the compliance of national states which receive aid from the EU in respect of non-refoulement; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which countries in receipt of British or EU bilateral or multi-lateral aid are suspected of breaking international law on human rights, with particular reference to non-refoulement.

Denis MacShane: We have not had any specific discussions on aid dispersion in respect of non-refoulement with EU Governments.
	However, when considering overseas aid the UK Government and the EU take into account the human rights record of the receiving country.
	We are committed to the principle of non-refoulement and support UNHCR's efforts to ensure that states are aware of, and act on, their obligations to protect refugees and persons seeking asylum.

Foreign Investment (Government Assistance)

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many companies employing under 150 people in the UK seeking to invest in a particular country, have been (a) granted access to the ambassador, (b) granted ministerial attention and (c) recommended to the Prime Minister for endorsement during the last three years.

Jack Straw: holding answer 4 March 2002
	Ministers and ambassadors lobby frequently in support of UK commercial interests in overseas markets. I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Members for East Carmarthen and Dinefwr (Adam Price) and for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner) on 14 February 2002, Official Report, columns 610–11W.
	The information requested by the right hon. Gentleman is subject to commercial confidentiality (exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies).

Far East Prisoners of War

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held in the last six months with the US Government about the position of Allied POWs held in Japanese prisoner of war camps during World War II.

Denis MacShane: None.

Far East Prisoners of War

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations in the last six months he has received about the status of the 1951 San Francisco treaty with Japan.

Denis MacShane: I held a meeting with former far east prisoners of war on 15 January to hear their views on this issue. I have also been in correspondence with members of a former far east prisoner of war group on the subject.

Montenegro

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the holding of a referendum on independence in Montenegro by the end of this year; and if he has received representations from the Montenegran Government on the issue.

Jack Straw: holding answer 5 March 2002
	The future of Montenegro is ultimately in the hands of the people of Montenegro. But we and our EU partners have made clear our belief that Montenegro's interests, and those of the wider region, will best be served by a negotiated outcome between Belgrade and Podgorica which leaves intact a single internationally-recognised state. The EU High Representative, Javier Solana, has been working with the parties on this issue since November 2001. We strongly support his efforts and have advised the parties against any abrupt or unilateral moves in this delicate situation. All those concerned, including President Djukanovic of Montenegro, have engaged constructively in this process.
	We maintain regular contact with the Montenegrin authorities, and with President Djukanovic personally, on this and on other issues.

Europe Day

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to celebrate Europe day in 2002.

Peter Hain: The FCO today launched a new website, www.europeday.gov.uk, to raise awareness of Europe day and of Britain's role in Europe. It is hoped that the website format and the style of the content will primarily appeal to teenagers and young adults. It will feature information about Europe day and the European Union, details of Europe day celebrations and a quiz to promote an interest in European affairs.

Hong Kong

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will publish the next report to Parliament on Hong Kong and the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Denis MacShane: The tenth report in this series, covering the period July-December 2001, was laid before the House yesterday. A copy of the report is also available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website, www.fco.gov.uk. The report includes a foreword by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary. I commend the report to the House.

European Union

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union for March and also the major European Union events for the period between 31 March and August.

Peter Hain: The information is as follows.
	
		
			 Date Venue Event 
		
		
			 March 2002   
			 1 Brussels Justice and Home Affairs Council (evening) 
			 1 Brussels Internal Market, Consumers and Tourism Council 
			 4 Brussels Eurogroup (evening) 
			 4 Brussels Environment Council 
			 5 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 7 Brussels Employment and Social Affairs Council 
			 11 Brussels Research Council 
			 11–12 Brussels General Affairs Council 
			 15–16 Barcelona European Council 
			 18 Toledo Meeting of Trade Ministers (Ministerial Informal) 
			 18–19 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 19 Toledo Euromed Trade Ministers Meeting 
			 23–24 Brussels Defence Minister's Meeting (Ministerial Informal) 
			 25–26 Brussels Transport and Telecom Council 
			 27–28 Monterry, Mexico Financing and Development Conference 
		
	
	The following are the principal events in the EU between 1 April and August 2002 (certain relevant events are also included: the list is based on the information available at the date of issue).
	
		
			 Date Venue Event 
		
		
			 April   
			 5–6 Luxembourg Migrations Council (ASEM Ministerial Informal) 
			 8 Luxembourg Fisheries Council 
			 13–14 Luxembourg ECOFIN (Ministerial Informal) 
			 15–16 Luxembourg General Affairs Council 
			 22–23 Valencia Euromed Conference 
			 22–23 Luxembourg Agriculture Council 
			 25–26 Luxembourg Justice and Home Affairs Council 
			 27–30 Luxembourg Agriculture Council (Ministerial Informal) 
			
			 May   
			 3–4 Brussels Tourism Council (Ministerial Informal) 
			 6 Brussels Eurogroup 
			 7 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 9 — Europe Day 
			 13 Brussels General Affairs Council and Defence Ministers Meeting 
			 17–18 Madrid EU-Latin America and Caribbean Summit 
			 21 Brussels Internal Market, Consumers and Tourism Council 
			 23 Brussels Culture and Audio-visual Council 
			 24–26 Brussels Environment Council (Ministerial Informal) 
			 27–28 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 30 Brussels Development Council 
			 30 Brussels Education and Youth Council 
			 31–1 June Brussels Transport Council (Ministerial Informal) 
			
			 June   
			 3 Brussels Employment and Social Affairs Council 
			 3 Brussels Eurogroup 
			 4 Luxembourg ECOFIN 
			 6–8 Brussels Foreign Affairs Council (ASEM Ministers) 
			 6–7 Brussels Industry and Energy Council 
			 10–11 Brussels General Affairs Council 
			 10–11 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 11 Brussels Fisheries Council 
			 13–14 Brussels Justice and Home Affairs Council 
			 17–18 Brussels Transport and Telecoms Council 
			 17–18 Brussels General Affairs Council 
			 21–22 Seville European Council 
			 24 Brussels General Affairs Council (Evening) 
			 24–25 Brussels Environment Council 
			 25 Luxembourg ECOFIN 
			 26 Brussels Health Council 
			
			 July   
			 6 Copenhagen ASEM Ministers for Finance 
			 12 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 12–13 Kolding Meeting of Employment and Social Policy Ministers (Informal) 
			 15–16 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 19 Brussels Budget Meeting 
			 19–21 Arhus Environment Ministers Meeting (Informal) 
			 22–23 Brussels General Affairs Council 
			
			 August   
			 31–1 Elsinore Gymnich (Ministerial Informal)

European Union

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 27 February 2002, Ref 38404, if his Department has conducted an internal analysis of the recurring annual direct and indirect (a) costs and (b) benefits arising from UK membership of the European Union.

Peter Hain: No.

Laeken Declaration

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on paragraph 1 of the Laeken conclusions, with particular reference to the inclusion of the concept of irreversibility.

Peter Hain: The opening paragraph of the Laeken conclusions refers to three of the EU's main projects—the introduction of the single currency, enlargement and the Future of Europe debate. The Gothenburg European Council in June 2001 noted the impressive progress in the enlargement negotiations and observed that
	"The enlargement process is irreversible".
	At Laeken, in December, the European Council confirmed the continued good progress of the negotiations and reiterated the irreversible nature of the process. The Government remain committed to the timetable for enlargement agreed at Gothenburg and reinforced at Laeken.

TREASURY

Tax Evasion

Mike Wood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue the Treasury estimates has been lost each year since 1997 through (a) income tax evasion, (b) VAT evasion, (c) non-payment of national insurance contributions and (d) benefit fraud.

Dawn Primarolo: There is no reliable measure of the total income tax and national insurance contributions lost to evasion. In his report, published in March 2002, Lord Grabiner QC commented on the scale of the hidden economy and said:
	"By its nature, the size of the informal economy is hard to measure. Most estimates are based on analysing high-level economic aggregates, such as labour market statistics or income and expenditure surveys, and calculate the result as a percentage of GDP. However there is research which suggests that these estimates tend to be exaggerated."
	"It would be impractical to arrive at a precise and meaningful figure as to the scale of the problem without a considerable investment of time and resources."
	There are no revenue estimates for all VAT evasion since 1997. However, estimates for VAT Missing Trader Fraud have been published and I refer the hon. Gentleman to page 19 of the Customs and Excise paper "Measuring Indirect Tax Fraud" that was published on 27 November 2001 a copy of which is in the Library of the House. This gives estimates for this type of VAT fraud for 1999–2000 and 2000–01. There are no estimates for any earlier years.
	The most recent estimate of the annual loss to benefit fraud is £2 billion.

New Enterprise Support Initiative Helpline

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of usage of the New Enterprise Support initiative helpline.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 28 February 2002
	The NESI helpline opened for business in April 1999 and is on target to receive half a million calls from employers and prospective employers this year.

Debt (Customs and Excise)

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the outstanding debt to HM Customs and Excise at (a) 31 March 2000, (b) 31 March 2001 and (c) the most recent date for which information is available was in respect of (i) assessments being challenged by business, (ii) fraud-related debts where recovery action has been suspended and (iii) debt placed under civil recovery action through the courts;
	(2)  what was the total outstanding debt to HM Customs and Excise at (a) 31 March 1996, (b) 31 March 1997, (c) 31 March 1998, (d) 31 March 1999, (e) 31 March 2000 and (f) 31 March 2001.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 4 March 2002
	Relevant statistical information concerning debt owed by HM Customs and Excise is published on a routine basis in their Departmental Annual Report.

Parliamentary Questions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department since July 2001 have yet to receive substantive replies.

Paul Boateng: 3,162 of the 3,291 written questions tabled to the Treasury in the present parliamentary session have already been answered substantively. The dates by which answers are due have not yet been reached in the case of 68 of the remaining 129 questions.

Parliamentary Questions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of (a) ordinary written questions and (b) named day questions have been answered by his Department (i) within a week of tabling and (ii) on the named day since June 2001.

Paul Boateng: 1,714 of the 2,236 ordinary written questions (76.7 per cent.) tabled in the present parliamentary session were answered within a week, and 780 of the 1,055 named day questions (73.9 per cent.) were answered on the nominated day.

Brownfield Sites

Debra Shipley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal incentives he provides to encourage the development of brownfield sites.

Paul Boateng: Budget 2001 introduced a 150 per cent. accelerated tax credit for the costs of cleaning up contaminated land. It allows companies to claim an enhanced tax deduction for the costs that they incur in cleaning up contaminated sites acquired as part of their trade or schedule A business, and applies to expenditure on or after 11 May 2001.

Construction Industry

Debra Shipley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what taxation and regulatory measures he has applied to the construction industry to encourage environmentally friendly building practices.

Paul Boateng: The Government have introduced a number of taxation measures which are intended to have positive environmental impacts, including encouraging environmentally-friendly building practices. These include the following.
	The aggregates levy will encourage a shift in demand away from virgin aggregate towards recycled construction and demolition waste, and will promote greater resource efficiency in the construction industry. The aggregates levy-funded sustainability fund in England will include projects to promote more sustainable construction and demolition practices.
	Increases in the landfill tax encourage the recycling of construction and demolition wastes, and create incentives to minimise waste.
	The 150 per cent. accelerated tax credit for cleaning up contaminated land encourages urban regeneration and reduces pressure on greenfield sites.
	The reduced rate of VAT on the installation of energy saving materials supports the introduction of energy efficiency measures in the domestic sector, particularly through Government-funded programmes such as the home energy efficiency scheme.
	Regulations on the construction industry are a matter for other Government Departments.

Regulatory Impact Unit

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members her Department employs in its regulatory impact unit; and if she will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Treasury, Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise each have separate departmental regulatory impact units in which two, five and three people respectively co-ordinate work on regulatory impact.
	The staff in each unit works closely with the officials responsible for developing policies within their department and the regulatory impact within the Cabinet Office. They focus on those regulations which impact on business, charities, and the voluntary sector.

Export Licences

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the expected time limit is on decisions for export licence applications.

Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.
	The Export Control Organisation (ECO) sets out the Government's commitment to exporters in a Service and Performance Code (available on its website www.dti.gov.uk/export.control). Where, as in almost all cases, it is necessary for a Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) application to be circulated to other Government Departments the aim is to provide a response to 70 per cent. of cases within 20 working days, except in special circumstances. Details of performance in processing SIEL applications against the target are published in the Government's annual reports on strategic export controls, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	While there is no time limit placed on decisions for export licences, the Government are committed to processing all export licence applications as quickly as possible, consistent with our determination to manage the transfer of all goods and technology controlled for strategic reasons in a responsible manner.

Financial Questionnaire

Adrian Flook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the criteria used to determine which companies are required to answer the Annual Business Inquiry-Part II for 2001 Financial Questionnaire from the Office for National Statistics; for what reasons this is compulsory; what the timescale is in which companies are required to answer; what proportion have responded to previous annual inquiries since 1997; how long it will take to process the information for this inquiry; and for what purposes the information will be used.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Adrian Flook, dated 6 March 2002
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question regarding the criteria used to determine which companies are required to answer the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) - Part II for 2001 Financial Questionnaire from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). I am replying in his absence. (39959)
	The ABI is a vital source of information about the structure of UK industry and the economy. It is used to compile the input/output tables, which underpin the United Kingdom National Accounts, including estimates of GDP, and is increasingly being used as a source of regional economic data.
	ONS compiles a register of businesses classified by size, as defined by the number of employees, and by the nature of their business activity. It is important for ONS to ensure representative results from its business inquiries, including the ABI. Representative results have to be based on representative survey samples and, as such, data has to be collected from businesses of all sizes and all sectors of the economy. ONS therefore approaches small, medium and large sized companies. However, ONS is conscious of the need to lighten the form-filling burden for businesses wherever possible, and particularly for smaller businesses, without compromising survey results. Companies with fewer than 10 employees are selected and are subject to a guarantee that they will only be expected to complete one business inquiry form, at most, every 3 years. Small to medium sized businesses are usually included in the sample for 2 consecutive years and are then replaced by another similar sized business in their industry. The largest companies will inevitably always be selected. In 2001, 72,000 UK businesses, out of a total of just under 2 million businesses, received the ABI Part II form.
	The ABI is a statutory inquiry conducted under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947. Its statutory nature reflects the importance of the information collected for the monitoring of UK economic trends by the Government. A voluntary inquiry would have to approach a much larger number of businesses in order to ensure a similar level of response, and even then response would be biased towards those companies that were inclined to be co-operative with such business inquiries.
	Companies are required to submit data by 31 March or within 2 months of their business year-end. If no figures are available for calendar year 2001, a return may cover a business year ending on any date between 6 April 2001 and 5 April 2002. Contributors to the inquiry are welcome to telephone the ONS contact named on the inquiry form for assistance in making their return.
	The proportions of companies responding to Annual Business Inquiries over the three years since it was implemented in 1998 are 85% in 1998, 86% in 1999 and 85% in 2000.
	For the 2001 inquiry provisional results will be made available in a First Release in December 2002 with final results in June 2003.

Capital Gains Tax

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which organisations have made representations to the Treasury since 7 June 2001 concerning the structure of capital gains tax taper relief; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: As is normal in the run up to the Budget, the Government have received a number of representations from a variety of organisations. The pre-Budget report said:
	"The Government are considering the various proposals it has received in response to the consultation launched in June 2001 on value for money options to simplify CGT within the existing policy framework. It is also considering whether there is any case for changes to the CGT regime for non-business assets."

Capital Gains Tax

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which organisations made representations concerning capital gains tax taper relief between 1 May 1997 and 1 April 1999; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Government's reform of capital gains tax generated a large number of representations, some in response to the consultation announced by the Chancellor in his Budget on 2 July 1997, some outside that consultation. A comprehensive list of all the parties concerned could be produced only at disproportionate cost. We are grateful to the many individuals and organisations who took the trouble to let us know their views. Their ideas fed into the reforms that the Government made to capital gains tax in 1998 and subsequently.

Press Releases

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many press releases were issued by his Department (a) between 1 May and 31 December 1997 and (b) in each year from 1998 to 2001 inclusive.

Ruth Kelly: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1 May-31 December 1997 129 
			 1998 239 
			 1999 283 
			 2000 151 
			 2001 154

Press and Public Relations

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in a press or public relations function in his Department on 1 January in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001 and (f) 2002.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) on 5 December 2001, Official Report, column 328W.

Relocation Expenses

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the payment of relocation expenses to staff in his Department.

Ruth Kelly: Treasury policy on the payment of relocation expenses is that assistance can only be given in the form of reimbursement of reasonable vouched expenses actually and necessarily incurred.

Email Mailing List

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of days that the Treasury's email mailing list system has been operational since 1 January 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury's email mailing list system was set up more than seven years ago and has historically proven very reliable. Since January 2001, the system has encountered some technical difficulties and become difficult to maintain. Over the last 14 months the service has been out of operation for approximately four to six weeks. Where possible, the Treasury internet team have informed subscribers when the service is not available.
	The Treasury's Information Services team are currently evaluating alternative systems that should prove more reliable. In the meantime, Members interested in seeing lists of recent Treasury press notices can find them on the Treasury's website at http://www.treasury.gov.uk/ Newsroom_and_Speeches/.

Intrastat System

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use is made by the Government of the statistical information obtained from Intrastat returns.

Ruth Kelly: HM Customs and Excise collect statistics for intra Community trade via the Intrastat system. Statistical data are supplied to other Government Departments to enable them to carry out their economic and strategic obligations.
	Data from Intrastat returns are a necessary component of the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) monthly trade first release and is a significant part of the Quarterly Balance of Payments (BOP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data. The data appear in three economic indicators that are widely used across Government, in particular in HM Treasury and the Bank of England, to assess the economic performance of the UK.
	A number of other Government Departments and devolved Administrations with policy interests in overseas trade, such as the DTI and the Welsh Assembly Government use the data for their own needs. It is used to evaluate global markets and in the development of regional international trade strategies.
	The Defence Analytical Services Agency uses the data for reporting the export and import of defence equipment and the defence balance of payments for trade in services and for estimating UK employment dependent on defence equipment exports.
	The Defence Export Services Organisation uses the information for the reporting of statistics on exports of military equipment, published in the annual report on Strategic Export Controls.
	Customs supply data to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for, among other uses, compiling Government reports, e.g. BSE and foot and mouth.

Intrastat System

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he plans to simplify the classification system used to identify products under the Intrastat system.

Ruth Kelly: HM Customs and Excise collect statistics for intra-Community trade via the Intrastat Supplementary Declaration. Declarations can be submitted on paper or electronically.
	Intrastat, including the classification system used to identify products, is governed by European legislation. There are currently no plans to simplify the classification system.

Insurance Cover (Overseas Treatment)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the availability of insurance cover for medical treatment overseas for injuries received from terrorist activities.

Ruth Kelly: We receive a great many representations from both industry and individuals.
	Insurance cover for medical treatment overseas, including for injuries received from terrorist activities, continues to be available in the UK marketplace.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Publicity Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the President of the Council what assessment he has made of the total real terms expenditure of his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies on publicity in each of the years (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 2000–01 and (e) 2001–02 (i) to date and (ii) as estimated for the whole of the present year; and if he will break these figures down to indicate expenditure on (A) advertising and (B) press and public relations.

Robin Cook: No expenditure has been incurred by my Department on publicity.

Union Duties

John Bercow: To ask the President of the Council how many staff in his Department, agencies and non- departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in each of the last four years.

Robin Cook: No staff in my Department have received paid leave to undertake union duties.

Entertainment Costs

John Bercow: To ask the President of the Council if he will list for 1997–98 and each subsequent financial year the amount spent by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies in respect of hotel and other similar privately-provided accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad for (A) Ministers, (B) staff and (C) other persons; if he will list the proportion of this cost incurred in respect of (x) food and (y) alcohol in each case; and if he will list the average cost per hotel room or similar unit of accommodation provided in each case.

Robin Cook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 14 February 2002, Official Report, columns 559–60W.

Entertainment Costs

Nigel Evans: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how much was spent on entertainment by the Lord Chancellor's Department in each year from 1997 to date.

Michael Wills: Estimated expenditure by both officials and Ministers on entertainment for the financial year 2000–01 was £60,768, in 1999–2000 was £71,166 and in 1998–99 was £45,087. Information for 1997–98 is not readily available.
	These figures differ from those previously provided by the Department in an earlier answer in the previous Parliament on 8 May 2001, Official Report, column 55W. The reason for the discrepancy is that a significant amount of expenditure that should not have been included in the total for entertainment had been miscoded as such by officials. The majority of the miscoded amount was for working lunches for panel members conducting interviews of candidates for judicial office. The effect was to overstate the true figure by approximately 20 per cent. for each of the three years covered above in the 8 May 2001 answer.
	I apologise to the House for this mistake. The errors resulted from an incomplete understanding of existing guidance by staff and the Department has drawn the attention of budget management staff to the correct procedures to be followed. Comprehensive guidance is to be re-issued before the end of the financial year.

Legal Costs

John Bercow: To ask the President of the Council what legal costs have been incurred by his Department in each of the last four years.

Robin Cook: My Department has incurred no legal costs during the period mentioned.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Marriage and Relationship Support

Martin Caton: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what grants she will make towards marriage and relationship support in the financial year 2002–03.

Rosie Winterton: During the next financial year (2002–03), the Lord Chancellor's Department will spend £5 million on marriage and relationship support, an increase of £0.5 million on the funding for the financial year 2001–02.
	This is the first financial year in which the marriage and relationship support fund has been allocated using the new grant programme launched in September 2001. The new programme introduced openly published criteria, which have been used to evaluate all applications received for this round of allocations. The aim of the Department is that the marriage and relationship support grant should be targeted on improving existing service delivery, as well as developing research, innovative projects, and the dissemination of better links and good practice among a wider and more diverse range of service providers than in previous years.
	The funding has been allocated as set out in the tables:
	
		
			 Core funding Funding allocated (£) 
		
		
			 Parentline Plus 62,000 
			 Relate 2,104,000 
			 Marriage Care 300,000 
			 Family Welfare Association 30,000 
			 One Plus One 242,000 
			 London Marriage Guidance Council 103,000 
			 Tavistock Marital Studies Institute 464,000 
			 Jewish Marriage Council 44,000 
			 Asian Family Counselling Service 50,000 
			 2as 1 150,000 
			 Totnes Family Partnership 58,000 
			 Somerset Family Partnership 50,000 
			 Family Matters York 50,000 
			 The Lesbian and Gay Foundation 48,000 
			 Muslim Women's Helpline 20,000 
			 The Salvation Arm 40,000 
			 Aquila Care Trust 88,000 
			 Project for Advocacy, Counselling and Education 46,000 
			 Basic For Life 34,000 
			 The Cogwheel Trust 4,000 
			 Poole Community Family Trust 50,000 
			 CFP Guildford 40,000 
			 Bristol Community Family Trust 50,000 
			  
			 Total 4,139,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Research and development funding  Project title Amount allocated (£) 
		
		
			 University of Exeter, School of Psychology Money management and marital commitment in new couples: An evaluation of the efficacy of the FOCCUS inventory 43,000 
			 Relate Accessibility (follow-on bid) 32,000 
			 Relate Domestic Violence (follow-on bid) 40,000 
			 Care for the Family Asian Family Matters 19,000 
			 Relate Quality Assurance (follow-on bid) 30,000 
			 2as 1 Development and Adaptation of Relate Training Material 66,000 
			 London Marriage Guidance Council Community Development 71,000 
			 The Minster Centre Aracas Project (domestic violence) 72,000 
			 Tavistock Marital Studies Institute Brief Psychotherapy 32,000 
			 2as 1 Partnership project (Relate)—Awareness campaign to promote MARS to the Black African and Afro-Caribbean communities 120,000 
			 Sussex Family Mediation Service One Stop Shop 26,000 
			 The Church of England Marriage Preparation and Support in the South East 54,000 
			 Brook in Birmingham Counselling for Young Couples 39,000 
			 Marriage Care Emotional Literacy: Foundations for a Good Life: Phase 2 30,000 
			 The Richmond Centre Videos are Valuable 38,000 
			 One Plus One Investigation of Use and Value of Helpline Services 39,000 
			 One Plus One Investigation of Relationship Support 46,000 
			 Jewish Marriage Council Starting Marriage on the Right Foot 40,000 
			 Talking Matters(15) Infrastructure for Marriage Preparation in the Orthodox Jewish Community 24,000 
			 Total  861,000 
		
	
	(15) Moved from core to R&D

Rail Journeys (Staff)

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if she will make it her policy that rail journeys undertaken by staff in her Department should ordinarily be on standard class tickets.

Rosie Winterton: Paragraph 8.2.1 of the Civil Service Management Code requires Departments and agencies to ensure that staff use the most efficient and economic means of travel in the circumstances, taking into account any management benefit or the needs of staff with disabilities. In the headquarters of the Lord Chancellor's Department (including associated offices), the Court Service and the Public Guardianship Office, staff at or above the equivalent of senior executive officer level who travel on official business by train may travel first class. Staff at more junior levels may also do so if there is a business need for them to accompany staff who are permitted to travel first class. There are no present plans to change this policy.

Magistrates Pilot (Bristol)

Jean Corston: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if he will make a statement on the success of the scheme run in conjunction with Operation Black Vote and piloted in Bristol, East which enables members of the ethnic minority community to spend time shadowing magistrates on the Bristol and Northavon circuit.

Michael Wills: Bristol is one of seven areas piloting the magistrates shadowing scheme that my Department is running in conjunction with Operation Black Vote. The other areas are Birmingham, Bradford, Cardiff, Inner London, Middlesex and Oldham. It is a little too soon for me to be able to make a general statement on the success of the scheme. A full evaluation of the pilots is due to take place in the summer once all the pilots have been completed. The Lord Chancellor and I have been struck by the enthusiasm of the participants in Bristol and other pilot areas. I hope that participants will go out into their communities and explain and promote the role of magistrates, and so encourage more people from ethnic communities to put themselves forward for appointment.

Court Closures

Brian Iddon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which magistrates courts have closed since 1 May 1997.

Michael Wills: The courthouses that have closed since 1 May 1997 are listed in the table.
	Magistrates courts committees are not statutorily required to inform the Lord Chancellor's Department of proposed courthouse closures which are not subject to an appeal by its paying authority or authorities.
	It is the Government's policy that decisions concerning the number, location and future of magistrates courts are for each magistrates courts committee to determine, in consultation with its local paying authority or authorities.
	
		
			 Magistrates courthouse Closure date 
		
		
			 Bromsgrove 31 May 1997 
			 Ledbury 31 May 1997 
			 Hebburn 5 June 1997 
			 South Shields (Kepple street) 5 June 1997 
			 Bargoed 30 June 1997 
			 Chippenham (Market place) 30 June 1997 
			 Monmouth 30 June 1997 
			 Pontlottyn 30 June 1997 
			 Pontypool 30 June 1997 
			 Ashton under Lyne (Manchester road) 31 August 1997 
			 Duckinsfield 31 August 1997 
			 Thorne 31 August 1997 
			 Braintree 31 December 1997 
			 Clacton on Sea 31 December 1997 
			 Saffron Walden 31 December 1997 
			 Stokesley 31 December 1997 
			 Malton 6 February 1998 
			 Appleby 31 March 1998 
			 Bishop's Stortford 31 March 1998 
			 Chertsey 31 March 1998 
			 Farnham 31 March 1998 
			 Hatfield 31 March 1998 
			 Hitchin 31 March 1998 
			 Market Rasen 31 March 1998 
			 Marlborough street 31 March 1998 
			 Oxted 31 March 1998 
			 Lutterworth 31 July 1998 
			 Ripon 1 August 1998 
			 Barnard Castle 31 December 1998 
			 Clerkenwell 31 December 1998 
			 Corwen 31 December 1998 
			 Diss 31 December 1998 
			 Felixstowe 31 December 1998 
			 Haverhill 31 December 1998 
			 Lytham 31 December 1998 
			 Newmarket 31 December 1998 
			 Saxmundham 31 December 1998 
			 Sheerness 31 December 1998 
			 Stowmarket 31 December 1998 
			 West Malling 31 December 1998 
			 Abingdon 31 March 1999 
			 Christchurch 31 March 1999 
			 Henley on Thames 31 March 1999 
			 Morley 31 March 1999 
			 Pudsey 31 March 1999 
			 Windsor 31 March 1999 
			 Stow on the Wold 30 June 1999 
			 March 31 December 1999 
			 Ampthill 1 January 2000 
			 Biggleswade 1 January 2000 
			 Dunstable 1 January 2000 
			 Leighton Buzzard 1 January 2000 
			 Lichfield 31 March 2000 
			 Keighley 1 April 2000 
			 Keswick 30 April 2000 
			 Appleby 31 May 2000 
			 Windermere 31 May 2000 
			 Wigton 31 May 2000 
			 Gravesend 9 June 2000 
			 Wootton Bassett 2 October 2000 
			 Abergele 31 December 2000 
			 Alfreton 1 January 2001 
			 Ashbourne 1 January 2001 
			 Bakewell 1 January 2001 
			 Matlock 1 January 2001 
			 Leigh 31 March 2001 
			 Middleton 31 March 2001 
			 Leek 31 March 2001 
			 Worcester 31 March 2001 
			 Macclesfield Park Green 1 April 2001 
			 Warrington Patten Hall 1 April 2001 
			 Bideford 30 April 2001 
			 Exmouth 30 April 2001 
			 Kingsbridge 30 April 2001 
			 South Molton 30 April 2001 
			 Teignmouth 30 April 2001 
			 Tavistock 30 April 2001 
			 Axminster 4 May 2001 
			 Tiverton 4 May 2001 
			 Newquay 30 June 2001 
			 Womborne 31 August 2001 
			 Southampton (Commercial road) 31 August 2001 
			 Gillingham 30 September 2001 
			 Bridlington 9 November 2001 
			 Brough 9 November 2001 
			 Driffield 9 November 2001 
			 Hull (Guildhall) 9 November 2001 
			 Hull (Lowgate) 9 November 2001 
			 Pocklington 0 November 2001 
			 Withernsea 9 November 2001

Magistrates

Helen Jones: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many people from the Warrington, North constituency have been appointed to the magistracy in each year since 1997.

Michael Wills: The figures sought are set out in the table. This year the Advisory Committee is looking to recommend five new appointments but no decisions have yet been made about who will be recommended. The Advisory Committee normally submits its recommendations in June or July.
	
		
			  Warrington, North Warrington, South 
		
		
			 1997 1 1 
			 1998 4 1 
			 1999 3 0 
			 2000 5 5 
			 2001 2 2

Non-Governmental Organisations

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list non-governmental organisations operating in the south-west region that receive public funds from her Department; and what amount of annual funding they received in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Details of grants in aid funding provided directly to non-governmental organisations (i.e. those organisations operating in the charity/voluntary sector) are contained in my Department's annual appropriation accounts. The most recent accounts, those for the financial year 2000–01, were published on 20 February 2002 (HMSO). Overall grants in aid funding totalled £5,673,020, though as funding is often to the national office of the organisation concerned for distribution locally, details of funds received by those in the south-west region could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Funding is also provided to non- governmental organisations through NDPBs sponsored by my Department.

Special Urgency Provisions

Peter Luff: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how often the Department has applied the special urgency provisions in paragraph 22 of Circular 18/84 (Development by Government Departments) to a development by the Department; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: The Lord Chancellor's Department has never made an application to use the special urgency provisions in paragraph 22 of Circular 18/84 (Development by Government Departments).

Auld Report

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations he has received from and on behalf of magistrates (a) nationally and (b) by region regarding the Auld report; and if he will make a statement on the areas on which most comments focus.

Michael Wills: We have received over 400 responses. On behalf of magistrates: (a) nationally, we have received responses from: Central Council of Magistrates Courts Committees, HM Council of District Judges (Magistrates Courts) and the Magistrates Association; (b) by region, we have received representations from magistrates in 37 of the 42 Magistrates Courts Committee areas. These focus on the establishment of a unified criminal court, and the proposal for an intermediate tier. Representations on all the recommendations in Sir Robin Auld's report are now being carefully considered and analysed in detail. The Government will announce their conclusions by way of a White Paper in the spring.

Auld Report

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what has been done to explain the implications of the Auld report's recommendations to magistrates in the Teesside area.

Michael Wills: In October 2001 copies of the Auld report were sent to all Justices Chief Executives, to distribute to chairmen of magistrates benches in their Magistrates Courts Committee (MCC) areas. The representative organisations for district judges (Magistrates Courts) and lay magistrates also received copies. On 28 November 2001, a ministerial "roadshow" was held in Newcastle and magistrates from the Cleveland MCC area, which covers Teesside, attended. Written representations have been received from the Cleveland MCC and the Teesside Magistrates' Bench.

Retrospective Legislation

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the introduction of retrospective legislation.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government's policy before introducing a legislative provision having retrospective effect is to balance the conflicting public interests and to consider whether the general public interest in the law not being changed retrospectively may be outweighed by any competing public interest. In making this assessment the Government will have regard to relevant international standards including those of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which was incorporated into United Kingdom law by the Human Rights Act 1998.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefits (Epsom and Ewell)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Epsom and Ewell constituency receive housing benefit.

Malcolm Wicks: The available information is in the table.
	
		Housing benefit recipients in August 2001
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Epsom and Ewell borough council 1,790 
			 Mole Valley borough council 2,540 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data refer to households which may be a family, a couple, or a single person.
	2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 cases.
	3. Epsom and Ewell parliamentary constituency is covered in part by Epsom and Ewell and Mole Valley local authority areas. Figures are not therefore representative of the constituency area.
	Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload count—August 2001.

Pension Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate by how much it would be possible to raise the basic state pension for the over-75s, on a revenue neutral basis, and taking account of offsetting savings in expenditure on means-tested benefits and enhanced income tax revenue, if he were not to introduce the pension credit and were instead to spend the money on the state pension for the over-75s.

Ian McCartney: Diverting £2 billion away from the state pension credit to increasing the basic state pension (BSP) for the over-75s would mean standard rate BSP could rise from £72.50 to £87.55 per week for the over-75s. Approximately 75 per cent. of pensioners aged 75 and over who were previously entitled to the minimum income guarantee would remain on the means tested benefits (MIG) if BSP was increased to £87.55 and because this is lower than the current MIG level they would be no better off.
	Also, millions of pensioners living on low or moderate incomes, who struggled to put money aside for their retirement, would find themselves little or no better off than people who had saved nothing. Over 4 million pensioners would no longer receive a reward for any savings that lifted their incomes above the minimum income guarantee. In addition, the upper capital limit of £12,000 and the assumed rate of return of £1 in every £250 would be retained. By introducing pension credit we will tackle poverty among today's pensioners, while not discouraging future pensioners from saving.

Benefits (Yorkshire)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed incapacity benefit in the York and North Yorkshire area in (a) 1997, (b) 1999, (c) 2000 and (d) 2001.

Nick Brown: The available information is in the table.
	
		Number of people claiming incapacity benefit in York and North Yorkshire local authority areas
		
			  York North Yorkshire(16) 
		
		
			 31 August 1997 4,700 14,300 
			 31 August 1999 4,500 14,000 
			 31 August 2000 4,800 13,900 
			 31 August 2001 4,800 14,700 
		
	
	(16) North Yorkshire includes Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
	Source:
	Figures are taken from a 5 per cent. sample of the incapacity benefit computer system and exclude a small number of cases held clerically.

Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the basis was for the reference in his Department's recent Targeting Fraud advertisements to the number caught by fraud investigators; and if he will estimate how many of that number were successfully prosecuted.

Malcolm Wicks: The figures in the Targeting Fraud advertisements were derived from successful prosecutions data. Since the advertisements were made we have improved the data sources used to compile this information. Over 9,000 people were successfully prosecuted in 1999/2000 and over 11,000 in 2002–02. We shall amend the radio advertisements in the final stage of the campaign in March to reflect the new figures.

Fraud

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of benefit fraud were recorded in each of the past five years in (a) Wales, (b) England and (c) Scotland.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested.

Child Support Agency

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what powers the Child Support Agency has to obtain child support from a self-employed absent parent who has not contributed maintenance to a parent with care; and how these powers have been used in the case of Elaine Lanchbury, a constituent.

Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Huw Edwards, dated 4 March 2002
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply by me.
	You have asked firstly what powers the Child Support Agency has to obtain child support from a self-employed non-resident parent who has not contributed maintenance to a parent with care and secondly how these powers have been used in the case of Elaine Lanchbury a constituent.
	There are a number of options available which can be considered when the Agency is trying to obtain maintenance payments from a non-compliant, self-employed non-resident parent.
	Those options include:
	County Court Judgement—entering a Liability Order on the register which is passed to Credit Reference Agencies,
	referring a case to Bailiffs,
	a garnishee order—which allows recovery from money held in a bank account,
	a charging order—which enables the payment of debts to be secured by a charge on land or property and
	referral of a case to court for it to consider committal to prison or withdrawal or holding of a driving licence.
	Individual cases are a confidential matter and I have written to you separately regarding Ms Lanchbury.
	I hope this is helpful.

Child Support Agency

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of people who have had their driving licences removed by the courts since April 2001 as a result of the provisions introduced under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 4 March 2002
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply by me.
	You ask two questions of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Firstly, if he will estimate the number of people who have had their driving licences removed by the courts since April 2001 as a result of the provisions introduced under the Child Support Pensions and Social Security Act 2000. Secondly, how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted; and what was the average sentence from that conviction under the criminal offence of non-co-operation with the CSA.
	No driving licences have been removed by the Courts from non-resident parents. In two cases the Courts ordered a non-resident parent to be disqualified from holding a driving licence but the order was suspended. They are both now making regular payments.
	There have been no prosecutions and therefore no convictions made under the criminal offence of non-co-operation with the Child Support Agency. The deterrent effect of a criminal sanction for failing to provide information when requested is an important element of the new system. We strongly encourage parents to co-operate voluntarily with requests for information before referring the case for consideration of prosecution under the new legislation.
	I hope this is helpful.

Child Support Agency

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average payment is made in child support maintenance by the non-resident parent under the CSA system for (a) one child, (b) two children and (c) three children.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
	
		The average maintenance paid in the current child support scheme
		
			 Number of qualifying children Average per week (£) 
		
		
			 1 7.98 
			 2 10.65 
			 3 10.23 
		
	
	Note:
	Includes nil assessments.
	Source:
	5 per cent. scan of the Child Support Computer System August 2001.

Child Support Agency

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the (a) percentage and (b) number of non-resident parents who would see a reduction in their CSA child support maintenance liability under the April 2002 scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: Based on an assessment made in 1998, had all cases transferred to the new child support scheme at that time, around 65 per cent. of non-resident parents in work would have seen a reduction in their child support liability. This amounts to approximately 425,000 cases. However, it is not possible to make a firm estimate of the impact on non-resident parents for 2003, five years later, given earnings growth and changes in family circumstances.
	Note:
	New scheme maintenance modelled on 5 per cent. scan of the child support computer system August 1998.

Jobcentre Plus

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff have been (a) redeployed and (b) retrained as a result of the introduction of Jobcentre Plus; and what his estimate is of the costs incurred by his Department in undertaking retraining programmes.

Nick Brown: Approximately 4,000 staff are employed in the 56 Jobcentre Plus pathfinder offices that have opened since October 2001. The majority of these staff were perviously employed by either the Employment Service or the Benefits Agency. All have received some Jobcentre Plus specific training. The amount of training delivered to individual members of staff was largely dependent on their background and experience. The estimated cost of designing, implementing and delivering Jobcentre Plus training for all Jobcentre Plus pathfinder staff is £5 million.

Automated Credit Transfer

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the annual saving in handling costs is anticipated when benefits payments are changed to automated credit transfer.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 5 February 2002
	The movement to payment direct into bank and building society accounts assures a safe, convenient, more modern and efficient way of paying benefits and pensions and will bring very substantial savings. Against this, we will incur some additional costs which cannot yet be quantified, including payments to Post Office Ltd. which will depend on the outcome of the current contract negotiations between the Government and the Post Office, and on the number of Post Office Card Accounts.

Universal Bank

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what level of investment the Government have committed themselves to providing for the universal bank project.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department, together with the Inland Revenue and the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency, are close to finalising contractual terms with the Post Office for universal banking services. The amounts involved will be commercially confidential to the parties.

Universal Bank

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Government have reached an agreement with the high street banks as to the level of funding that they will invest in the universal bank project.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for E-Commerce and Competitiveness on 30 October 2001, Official Report, columns 589–90W.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases were the subject of rolling reviews in each of the last five years in determining the level of fraud in jobseeker's allowance and income support.

Malcolm Wicks: The total number of sample cases has been around 30,000 since the start of the area benefit review programme. The number for each reporting period is in the table.
	The smaller sample size for 2001–02 was introduced as part of the move to a common sample for determining levels of fraud and customer error, and official error. The smaller sample size for 2002–03 is a result of the Department restructuring from 13 areas to 11 Government office regions. Neither of these reductions in sample size will result in a reduction in the confidence levels of the reported results.
	
		Income support/jobseeker's allowance review
		
			 Reporting period Sample size 
		
		
			 October 1997 to September 1998 31,200 
			 April 1998 to March 1999 31,200 
			 April 1999 to March 2000 31,200 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 31,200 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 27,333 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 26,900 
		
	
	Source:
	Area benefit reviews

Minimum Income Guarantee

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of the minimum income guarantee in 2050 in today's prices if it is raised in line with earnings and if the basic state pension is raised in line with prices.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 12 February 2002
	The estimated cost of uprating the MIG in line with earnings is approximately £12 billion in today's prices in 2050.

Debt Recovery

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the locations of debt recovery centres within his Department and those after the planned reductions.

Malcolm Wicks: Debt Management Services, a unit within the Department, currently has responsibility for approximately 1,800 staff based in 127 sites across the country. These sites are generally co-located with existing Benefits Agency offices. The plan is to consolidate these units into 10 debt centres over the period ending March 2005. Departmental staff outside Debt Management Services also process overpayment work for the benefits administered centrally, such as Retirement Pension. This work is carried out at a further three sites, and is currently under review.
	Details of the current and planned future sites are in the following list.
	Current locations for debt processing work
	Barking
	Twickenham
	Hackney
	Bedford
	Norwich
	Slough
	New Forest
	Chichester
	Weymouth
	Plymouth
	Derby
	Nottingham
	Perry Barr
	Hereford
	Wolverhampton
	Wrexham
	Porth
	Barrow
	Warrington
	Crewe
	Salford
	Hull
	Mexborough
	Hemsworth
	Gateshead
	Sunderland
	Glasgow City
	Newlands
	Irvine
	Falkirk
	Bathgate
	Balham
	Hounslow
	Glasgow (for Ealing and Euston)
	Watford
	High Wycombe
	Bury St. Edmonds
	Peterborough
	Isle of Wight
	Bath
	Gloucester
	Chippenham
	Skegness
	Lincoln
	Halesowen
	Shrewsbury
	Cwmbran
	Newtown
	Swansea
	Toxteth
	Whitehaven
	Skelmersdale
	Keighley
	Leeds
	Sheffield
	Durham
	Stockton
	Annisland
	Bridgeton
	Stornoway
	Dumfries
	Peterhead
	Dundee
	Poplar
	Stratford
	Belfast (for Neasden and South Circular)
	Wood Green
	Stevenage
	Corby
	Bexley
	Hastings
	St. Austell
	Bristol
	Lichfield
	Loughborough
	Edgbaston
	Smethwick
	Walsall
	Cardiff
	Caernarfon
	Blackpool
	Breckfield
	Preston
	Birkenhead
	Bradford
	York
	Doncaster
	Newcastle
	Middlesbrough
	Greenock
	Springburn
	Ayr
	Galashiels
	Motherwell
	Perth
	Harlow
	Ilford
	Ashton in Makerfield (for Palace)
	Edgware
	Clacton
	Oxford
	Lewes
	Portsmouth
	Barnstaple
	Taunton
	Worksop
	Sutton in Ashfield
	Sparkhill
	Coventry
	Nuneaton
	Merthyr
	Pembroke Dock
	Kirkby
	Widnes
	Southport
	Chorlton
	Dewsbury
	Rotherham
	Barnsley
	Hexham
	Hartlepool
	Renfrew
	Cranstonhill
	Stranraer
	Cowdenbeath
	Bellshill.
	Sites where benefits are currently administered centrally:
	Blackpool, Washington and Newcastle.
	Proposed locations for debt centres:
	Chorlton, Porth, Stornoway, Nuneaton, Ashton in Makerfield, Corby, Dearne Valley, Bradford, Glasgow and Salford.

Debt Recovery

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to revise the number of centres for debt recovery in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Western Isles (Mr. MacDonald) on 31 January 2002, Official Report, column 544W.

Vibration White Finger

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many former mineworkers applied for an award for vibration white finger; and how many were rejected by the Benefits Agency in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  if he will advise the Benefits Agency to use the test developed to diagnose vibration white finger in former mineworkers by the Department of Trade and Industry,
	(3)  how many former mineworkers who applied for vibration white finger were rejected for an award because they had neurological damage in the last year for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 25 February 2002
	The information is not available in the format requested.
	There is no simple, reliable and universally accepted test for vibration white finger. The test used by the Department of Trade and Industry for the settlement of compensation claims against British Coal fulfils the civil burden of proof in finding that former mineworkers have contracted vibration white finger as a result of their employer's negligence. This process involves litigation in individual cases and as such can be lengthy, detailed and expensive.
	The test used for the industrial injuries scheme is simple, straightforward to administer and consistent nationally. We have no plans to adopt the tests being used by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Pension Service

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to launch the Pension Service; and if he will list the locations of the proposed 26 pension centres and their catchment areas.

Ian McCartney: The pension service will be launched on 1 April 2002. Pension centres, which will roll out in stages over the next two years, will process work as set out in the table.
	
		
			 Government office region  Pension centre locations 
		
		
			 East Midlands Derby, Leicester, Nottingham 
			 Eastern Norwich (2 sites) 
			 London Glasgow, Newcastle (Tyneview Park), Dundee (initially)  
			 North East Stockport, Seaham 
			 North West Burnley, Stockport, Warrington 
			 Scotland Motherwell, Dundee 
			 South East Blackpool, Cwmbran, Liverpool, Wrexham 
			 South West Bath, Plymouth 
			 Wales Swansea 
			 West Midlands Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Dearne Valley, Seaham, York

Civil Servants

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new entrants to the civil service were employed in his Department in each of the last five years; and how many in each year were aged 50 and over.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 25 February 2002
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Cabinet Office on 27 February 2002, Official Report, columns 875–80W.

Capita

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many contracts the Department has with Capita; and how much they are worth;
	(2)  if he will list the contracts that have been awarded to the Capita Group by the Department.

Ian McCartney: The Department for Work and Pensions currently has 12 contracts with Capita, with a total value of £134.1 million.
	DWP Accommodation and Office Services—North-west and Greater Manchester
	DWP Accommodation and Office Services—Tyne Tees and Yorkshire
	DWP Accommodation and Office Services—West Midlands and Mercia
	Working Age Specification Framework
	Consultancy support to Pension Credit Project Central Design Authority
	Winter Fuels Payments Project
	Recruitment Services
	Private Sector Led New Deal—Solihull
	Employment Services Estates Corporate Supply
	New Deal Next Phase (progress2work)—Birmingham North
	New Deal Next Phase (progress2work)—Birmingham South
	Disability Marketing in North-west.

HIV

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to extend the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to give protection to people with HIV from the point of their diagnosis.

Maria Eagle: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer given to the hon. Member for Romsey (Sandra Gidley) on 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 904W.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the ability of parents of children who are suffering from attention deficit hyperactive disorder to access disability living allowance.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 1 March 2002
	Parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can claim disability living allowance (DLA) and have their child's entitlement assessed in the normal way. The claimant's medical condition is not, necessarily, the key factor in qualifying for DLA because entitlement to the allowance is based on walking difficulties and/or the need for personal care or supervision which arise from severe disability. For children under age 16, these needs must be substantially in excess of the normal requirements of a child of the same age who is in normal health.
	The guidance to decision makers in the disability handbook contains a chapter on behavioural disorders including the likely care, supervision or mobility needs arising from ADHD. Currently, DLA is received by some 42,500 children whose primary disability is recorded as being a "behavioural disorder".
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2. Figures are at 31 August 2001.
	Source
	ASD Information centre: 5 per cent data.

Foster Carers

James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if foster carers who give up work to care for foster children will be entitled to the Second State Pension; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Foster carers cannot qualify for state second pension simply because they are fostering a child. This is because they are not entitled to child benefit in respect of foster children.
	They may, however, qualify for state second pension in respect of any child under the age of six for whom they receive child benefit. They will also qualify for state second pension where, throughout a complete tax year, they are entitled to invalid care allowance, or qualify for home responsibilities protection because they are caring for a disabled child, whether or not that child is a foster child.

Foster Carers

James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to extend home responsibilities protection to foster carers; and whether it will cover the entire length of time they have been fostering.

Ian McCartney: Foster carers whose allowance contains a reward element may be liable for national insurance contributions on a self-employed basis. Where there is no liability, they may choose to pay voluntary contributions to assist in qualifying for state retirement pension. Foster carers who receive child benefit for their own children aged under 16 will be eligible for home responsibilities protection. We will keep these arrangements under review as we do with all rules relating to benefits.

Foster Carers

James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of extending home responsibilities protection to foster carers (a) caring for foster children and (b) to cover the entire length of time they have been fostering.

Ian McCartney: We cannot calculate the cost of extending home responsibilities protection to foster carers whose retirement pension entitlement is not already protected since this is dependent upon the individual's circumstances at pension age.

Compulsory Retirement

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action the Government will take against companies who enforce retirement on male employees at 60 instead of 65.

Patricia Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are currently undertaking a public consultation exercise on implementation of the European employment directive. The directive provides a framework for member states to introduce legislation outlawing unfair discrimination at work on the grounds of age, sexual orientation, religion, and disability. Among the age issues on which we are seeking general views is whether employers should be able to require people to retire at a certain age and, if so, whether legal limits should be placed on their right to do so. We shall carry out a further consultation on specific age proposals later this year, developed in the light of responses to this consultation.
	My right hon. Friend the Minister for Pensions replied on 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 781W, explaining that the Government actively encourage employers to value the contribution of older workers and to adopt flexible approaches to retirement.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Rail Journeys (Staff)

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy that rail journeys undertaken by staff in his Department should ordinarily be on standard class tickets.

Christopher Leslie: The Civil Service Management Code requires all Government Departments and agencies to ensure that employees use the most efficient and economic means of travel in the circumstances, taking into account any management benefit and the needs of staff with disabilities.
	Although entitlement to first class rail travel is an agreed condition of service at Band B2 level and above, Cabinet Office policy encourages use of standard class travel for all rail journeys outside the rush hours and for journeys of two hours or less.
	First class travel for other journeys recognises the level of work which may need to be carried out by staff in grades B2 and above while travelling by train.

Official Visits

Don Foster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will list the official visits to (a) Paris and (b) Brussels made by each Minister in his Department in 2001 and the mode of travel used; and what guidance is provided to Ministers in his Department on the choice of mode of travel for such visits;
	(2)  if he will list the official visits within the UK outside London made by each Minister in his Department in 2001, giving for each (a) the origin and destination and (b) the mode of travel used; and what guidance is provided to Ministers in his Department on choice of mode of travel for official visits.

Christopher Leslie: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Details of travel undertaken during the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 will be published in a similar form to previous years as soon as possible after the end of the current financial year. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House.
	All travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	The additional information requested in respect of UK travel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Global Crossing

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the dates on which Ministers in his Department have received hospitality in their ministerial capacities since 1 January 1999 from Global Crossing; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: Offers of hospitality which are accepted must be registered in line with the requirements of paragraph 139 of the Ministerial Code.

City of London Corporation

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list those functions, engagements and events which Ministers, his officials and advisers have attended which have been sponsored, funded, promoted and hosted by the City of London Corporation since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Secondments

Jim Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library the written agreements and protocols with the Whitehall and Industry Group governing their secondments to Government; and if he will list all the secondments placed under the auspices of the group since June 2001.

Christopher Leslie: A memorandum of understanding between the Cabinet Office, as sponsors of the Whitehall and Industry Group (WIG), and WIG is currently under negotiation. Copies of the agreement will be placed in the Libraries of the House in due course. It is open to any organisation to become a member of the Whitehall and Industry Group and some 45 Government Departments and agencies have joined. Copies of the information pack that organisations receive when they join WIG have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Currently two senior civil servants act as non-executive directors of the Whitehall and Industry Group.
	Since June 2001 five secondments (lasting three months or more) have been arranged through WIG into Government Departments, comprising:
	three into the Lord Chancellor's Department;
	one into the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions; and
	one into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

HEALTH

Special Advisers

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been reported in his Department under paragraph 11 of the Civil Service Code since 13 May 1999; and how many of them related to special advisers.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 9 January 2002
	I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	The procedures for making complaints under the civil service code are set out in the Department's staff handbook. Civil servants are encouraged, in the first instance, to raise complaints made under paragraph 11 of the "civil service code" with their line manager. If for any reason this is not felt to be possible, perhaps because the line manager is part of the complaint, individuals may take their complaint to a nominated official (or officials). It is not possible to provide a comprehensive figure for the number of complaints made within this Department under paragraph 11 of the code as there is no requirement for managers to report to the centre details of complaints made under the civil service code which are resolved within the management line.

Waiting Lists

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to seek information from the chief executive of each NHS trust about possible inappropriate adjustments to in-patient waiting lists.

John Hutton: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	Following publication of the National Audit Office report we commissioned the Audit Commission to initiate a system of spot-checks on waiting list statistics hospital- by-hospital.
	The Government believe that this approach is the best way to ensure that such inappropriate adjustments do not happen again.
	In addition, the Government are identifying a series of measures which will help identify at an early stage any trusts where there appears to be a problem in managing their waiting lists.
	Data in waiting lists returns will continue to be routinely validated by the Government statistical service. Any discrepancies will be resolved directly with the trusts prior to finalising the figures for publication.
	In future, any manager found to have deliberately distorted waiting figures will face dismissal on grounds of gross misconduct. This will be supported by a new code of conduct for NHS managers. Anyone who breaches that code of conduct will not be re-employed as a manager anywhere in the NHS.

GPs

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of general practitioners are connected to NHSnet.

John Hutton: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	The latest figures available as at 28 February 2002 show that over 98 per cent. of general practitioners in England have NHSnet connections in their practices.

Ambulance Services

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost per head of (a) emergency and (b) non-emergency ambulance services in (i) Shropshire, (ii) Wiltshire and (iii) the Isle of Wight in the last financial year.

Hazel Blears: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Expenditure per head of population -- £
		
			 Ambulance trust Non-emergency services Emergency services 
		
		
			 Shropshire's community and mental health services NHS trust 0.99 14.88 
			 Wiltshire ambulance service NHS trust 2.44 12.40 
			 Isle of Wight health care NHS trust 3.42 11.45 
		
	
	Source:
	Annual financial returns of NHS trusts 2000–01
	Weighted population estimates 2000–01

Arthritis

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in each regional health authority area are being prescribed anti-TNF drugs for arthritis.

Jacqui Smith: I apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is conducting an appraisal of these treatments. Guidance to the national health service is expected in April 2002. We expect health authorities and primary care trusts to fund treatments from their unified allocations which are increasing on average next year by 7.2 per cent. in real terms. We do not hold information centrally about current usage of these drugs.

Arthritis

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to provide funding for the increased supply of the drugs Infliximal and Etanercept;
	(2)  what percentage of sufferers of inflammatory arthritis in the UK have been prescribed the drugs Infliximal and Etanercept; and if he will give a breakdown by health authority area of the numbers of people who have been prescribed these drugs;
	(3)  what assessment has been made of the cost of prescribing the drugs Infliximal and Etanercept for treatment of inflammatory arthritis (a) in total and (b) per sufferer of this condition; and what evidence he has assessed on the long-term effectiveness of these drugs compared to other available forms of treatment.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 18 January 2002
	I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March, Official Report, column 192W.
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is conducting an appraisal of these treatments. Guidance to the national health service is expected in April 2002. We expect health authorities and primary care trusts to fund treatments from their unified allocations which are increasing on average next year by 7.2 per cent. in real terms. We do not hold information centrally about current usage of these drugs.

Care Homes

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that the new strategic health authorities from April 2002 take responsibility for patients in nursing homes for whom the present health authority is paying part only.

Jacqui Smith: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	Responsibility for funding services for patients will pass to the relevant primary care trust (PCT) in April 2002. Care and funding are provided on the basis of assessed need, so the PCT will take on the same responsibility as the health authority, except where the needs have changed.

Care Homes

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the average length of stay of a resident in (a) a local authority nursing home and (b) a privately owned nursing home; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested on average length of stay in privately owned nursing homes is not collected centrally.
	Local authorities do not own or run nursing homes.

Care Homes

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds in care homes there were in Kent in (a) 1997 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: Information on the number of residential places and registered nursing beds in Kent, at 31 March each year, is shown in the table.
	
		Residential and nursing care beds in Kent, 1997 and 2001, as at 31 March
		
			  (a) 1997(20) (b) 2001(21) 
		
		
			 Number of residential care homes(17) 16,009 15,928 
			 Number of beds in nursing homes(18),(19) 4,712 4,868 
		
	
	(17) Excludes places in childrens' homes.
	(18) Private nursing homes, hospitals and clinics.
	(19) Information is presented for East Kent and West Kent health authorities.
	(20) Figures for registered nursing beds relates to registered beds during the period 1 October 1996 to 31 March 1997.
	(21) Information is presented for the county of Kent prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1998. Figures for 2001 therefore relate to the area corresponding to the unitary authority of Medway Towns and the county area of Kent.

Care Homes

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average length of time it takes to set up a (a) residential home and (b) nursing home from the time of its original planning application.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 4 March 2002
	The information requested is not available centrally.

Correspondence

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Romsey, on orthopaedic waiting lists and the Lord Mayor Treloar hospital in Alton, Hampshire.

Hazel Blears: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer her to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	A reply was sent on 16 February.

Bolton South East Primary Care Group

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Wigan and Bolton health authority has used its increase in Government funding for the financial year 2002–03 to move the Bolton South East Primary Care Group closer to its target funding.

Jacqui Smith: I apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	For 2002–03, the allocations received by the new Bolton Primary Care Trust will increase by 10.14 per cent. in comparison to the funding received in 2001–02 by the two Bolton primary care groups.
	This is an above average settlement which will help to bring Bolton closer to target by almost 1 per cent. This rate of change is considered to be significant and is one which will not threaten the stability of other areas of the local health service.

Enron

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings (a) he and (b) his senior departmental officials have had with Enron and its subsidiaries in the last two years.

Hazel Blears: I apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and analysis. All such contacts are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code, The Civil Service Code and Guidance for Civil Servants: Contacts with Lobbyists. Some of these discussions take place on a confidential basis, and in order to preserve confidentiality, it is not the normal practice for Governments to release details of specific meetings with private individuals or companies.

NHS (Directors' Secondments)

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 23 January 2002, Official Report, column 955W, on NHS directors' secondments, if he will list the organisation to which the (a) chief executive and (b) executive directors listed in the table were seconded as at 1 December 2001.

John Hutton: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	My previous answer of 23 January 2002, Official Report, column 955W, referred to the secondment of executive directors of national health service trusts and health authorities to other organisations excluding secondments within the NHS. The figures provided included secondments within the NHS.
	The number of executive directors and chief executives of NHS trusts and health authorities who were on secondment to other organisations as at 1 December 2001 is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Region Chief executives Executive directors Total 
		
		
			 West Midlands 0 5 5 
			 Trent 3 7 10 
			 South West 2 5 7 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 1 5 6 
			 South East 6 1 7 
			 North West 2 10 12 
			 Eastern 4 6 10 
			 London 1 10 11 
			  
			 Total 19 49 68 
		
	
	The organisations to which the (a) chief executive and (b) executive directors were seconded as at 1 December 2001 is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Region Chief executives Executive directors Total 
		
		
			 West Midlands  2 to the Department of Health  
			   2 to West Midlands Regional Office  
			   1 to the Workforce Development Council 5 
			 
			 Trent 2 to the Department of Health 4 to NHS Trent Regional Office  
			  1 to NHS Trent Regional Office 1 to the NHS Modernisation Agency  
			   1 to NHS Estates  
			   1 to a University Health Research Department (SCHARR) 10 
			 
			 South West 1 to the NHS Leadership Centre 1 to South West Regional Office  
			  1 to Education Purchasing Consortium 1 to the National Shared Services Project  
			   1 to National Police Training Service  
			   1 to the NHS Leadership Centre  
			   1 to NHS Estates 7 
			 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 1 to Northern and Yorkshire Regional Office 1 to Northern and Yorkshire Workforce Confederation  
			   2 to Northern and Yorkshire Regional Office  
			   1 West Yorkshire Financial Shared Services Project  
			   1 to Tyne and Wear Health Action Zone 6 
			 
			 South West 1 to Commission for Health Improvement 1 to the NHS Modernisation Agency  
			  2 to Department of Health   
			  3 to South East Regional Office  7 
			 
			 North West 1 to NHS North West Regional Office 9 to NHS North West Regional Office  
			  1 to the Department of Health 1 to the Department of Health 12 
			 
			 Eastern 4 to Eastern Regional Office 6 to Eastern Regional Office 10 
			 
			 London 1 to Project Role with Prison Service 7 to London Regional Office  
			   1 to London Health Observatory  
			   1 to the NHS Modernisation Agency  
			   1 to NHS Estates 11 
			 Total 19 49 68

PFI/PPPs

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts and what fees in each financial year since 1997–98 (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, (c) KPMG, (d) PA Consulting, (e) WS Atkins, (f) Accenture, (g) Deloitte & Touche, (h) McKinsey, (i) Capita, (j) AEA Technology, (k) Xansa Group, (l) Sema Group, (m) CMG Admiral, (n) ICL Group and (o) Logica received for advising his Department on PFI and PPP contracts; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	1997–98
	No fees were paid to any of the companies listed in the question.
	1998–99
	No fees were paid to any of the companies listed in the question.
	1999–2000
	Cap Gemini Ernst & Young: 3 contracts, £58,603.03
	2000–01
	PricewaterhouseCoopers: 1 contract, £13,325
	Cap Gemini Ernst & Young: 5 contracts, £40,282.16
	Deloitte & Touche: 1 contract, £5,010
	2001–02
	KPMG: 2 contracts, £50,000
	PricewaterhouseCoopers: one contract, £23,818.19.

NHS Walk-in Centres

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, by centre, the number of people accessing NHS walk-in centres each month since opening.

John Hutton: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	The 42 NHS walk-in centres are being piloted as a new initiative to offer convenient access to primary care services.
	The Department commissioned an independent evaluation of all NHS walk-in centres. This has been led by Dr. Chris Salisbury at the University of Bristol. The national evaluation final report, including figures on the number of people accessing walk-in centres, is due for publication in the summer 2002.
	Estimates show, however, that overall more than 1.3 million people have visited walk-in centres since opening.

Fire Injuries

John Burnett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have received injuries in the south-west region relating to (a) an open fire, (b) an electrical heating system and (c) a gas central heating system, in the last three years.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 12 February 2002
	I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2000, Official Report, column 192W.
	The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mental Health

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made in reviewing methods of recording calls to NHS Direct about mental health-related matters so as to align them closely with the clinical assessment system.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 12 February 2002
	I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	All calls to NHS Direct are logged and recorded; this includes mental health calls. Nurse advisers use decision support systems (algorithms) as part of the national health service clinical assessment system (CAS) to enable them to identify the nature of the call and assess the needs of the caller. Mental health is seen as an integral part of the CAS and mental health callers will be assessed and advised using the CAS through the use of mental health algorithms developed by mental health clinicians. As CAS is available across England, the information available on all calls will become even more robust and will provide a credible data source supporting mental health service development.

Mental Health

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2001, Official Report, column 679W, what the timetable is for selection and implementation of instrumentation for the measurement of clinical outcomes in the mental health services.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 1 March 2002
	The selection and implementation of instrumentation for the measurement of clinical outcomes in mental health services is developing as planned.
	The instruments to be used were selected in January 2002.
	They will consider aspects of morbidity, patient satisfaction and quality of life.
	Piloting the instruments is currently in hand.
	Data are expected to be flowing from the pilot sites by September 2002.
	Routine measurement of outcomes is expected from April 2003.

Mental Health

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people, broken down by age, were (a) admitted and (b) discharged from hospital in each of the last five years where the main diagnosis was mental illness.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 5 March 2002
	The tables show the estimated numbers of Finished Consultant Episodes and Discharges with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders, in England, for 1996–97 to 2001–01. The figures for 2000–01 are provisional, as no adjustments have yet been made for shortfalls in data.
	
		Finished consultant episodes with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99), England, 1996–97 to 2000–01
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 Under 16 20,210 25,150 20,010 18,170 14,580 
			 16–24 33,880 36,540 31,500 27,870 22,220 
			 25–44 103,540 109,640 106,350 98,890 79,560 
			 45–64 54,390 56,190 56,010 54,550 45,850 
			 65–74 26,090 25,520 24,700 23,720 18,840 
			 75–84 32,310 32,920 33,300 31,560 24,210 
			 85+ 18,460 19,180 17,820 17,510 15,060 
			 Not known 2,400 470 730 250 420 
			 All ages 291,280 305,610 290,420 272,520 220,740 
			 Psychiatric diagnosis as a percentage of all diagnoses 2.7 2.7 2.5 2.3 1.9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data for 2001–01 have not been grossed for coverage and have a provisional status.
	2. Figures may not add up due to rounding.
	3. Codes have been taken from the 'International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems' Tenth Revision (ICD-10).
	
		Discharges with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99), England, 1996–97 to 2000–01
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 Under 16 20,000 24,950 19,620 18,050 14,270 
			 16–24 32,170 35,130 29,940 25,970 20,400 
			 25–44 97,330 104,070 100,000 90,360 72,230 
			 45–64 50,550 52,780 51,990 49,480 40,970 
			 65–74 24,000 23,670 22,740 21,190 16,630 
			 75–84 29,330 30,310 30,250 27,800 20,940 
			 85+ 16,660 17,540 16,010 15,230 12,740 
			 Not known 2,350 450 690 230 410 
			 All ages 272,390 288,890 271,230 248,300 198,580 
			 Psychiatric diagnosis as a percentage of all diagnoses 2.7 2.8 2.5 2.2 1.9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data for 2001–01 have not been grossed for coverage and have a provisional status.
	2. Figures may not add up due to rounding.
	3. Codes have been taken from the 'International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems' Tenth Revision (ICD-10).

Mental Health

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring of compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998 in psychiatric units his Department has undertaken in the last three years; and what resources have been made available for this.

Jacqui Smith: The Mental Health Act Commission's role is to routinely visit all hospitals and registered nursing homes with detained patients to monitor the operation of the Mental Health Act and interview detained patients in private. It is also their role to monitor complaints made by detained patients through the NHS complaints procedures and monitor the operation of the consent to treatment safeguards and the Mental Health Act Code of Practice. New legislation following the reform of the Mental Health Act 1983 will fully comply with the Human Rights Act 1998.

Correspondence

James Cran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when a substantive reply will be given to Dr. R. D. Fouracre's letter of 1 August 2001, concerning continence management services.

Jacqui Smith: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to the question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
	The Department has no record of receiving this correspondence. The hon. Member's office have been asked to supply a duplicate.

Correspondence

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average response time was for responding to departmental correspondence; what percentage of letters took longer than one month for a response; and what percentage took longer than three months for a response in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: The available information is in the table, which shows the percentage of letters replied to within the Department's service first targets of 20 working days.
	
		
			 Year Volume of letters Percentage increase Percentage of replies sent on target 
		
		
			 1998 10,648 — 61.0 
			 1999 18,346 Up 72.0 47.0 
			 2000 18,621 Up 1.5 50.0 
			 2001 19,665 Up 5.6 60.0

Health Action Zones

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what independent evaluation has been made of the work of health action zones.

Hazel Blears: The national independent evaluation of health action zones (HAZ) is due to be completed by December 2002 and is being conducted by a consortium led by Professor Ken Judge of the University of Glasgow. In addition, each HAZ is carrying out a local evaluation. Some reports have already been published and are available locally and at www.Haznet.org.uk.

Social Work Training

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will issue guidance to social services departments to ensure that care workers will not be charged when undertaking their training for the NVQ level II as set out in the domiciliary care standards.

Jacqui Smith: There is no intention either implied or stated in the draft National Minimum Standards for Domiciliary Care to levy a charge on home care workers for their NVQ training.

Foot Health Care

Barbara Follett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many chiropodists/podiatrists were employed in the NHS in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Qualified staff employed in chiropody/podiatry in England as at 30 September each year
		
			   1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Headcount 3,290 3,320 3,370 3,470 3,560 
			 Whole-time equivalents 2,730 2,750 2,770 2,850 2,890 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten.
	2. Due to rounding totals may not equal the sum of component parts.
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census

Herbal Medicines

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  on what basis the decision was made to require 30 years' continuous usage to be demonstrated before a licence could be obtained for herbal medicinal products as specified in the EU traditional herbal medicinal products directive; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  on what basis the decision was made to apply the same testing and manufacturing standards to herbal medicinal products as active pharmaceuticals as specified in the EU traditional herbal medicinal products directive; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The recent proposal by the European Commission for a directive of the European Parliament and Council on traditional herbal medicinal products will be subject to the normal processes of scrutiny and negotiation applicable to proposals for European legislation.
	The proposed directive would not affect the existing arrangements whereby a marketing authorisation may be obtained for a herbal medicine, based on evidence of safety, quality and efficacy. The directive would, however, put in place an additional route to the market for traditional herbal medicines under which evidence of traditional use would replace the requirement to demonstrate efficacy and, in many cases, also allow a simplified safety assessment. Any figure for a stipulated period of use, such as 30 years, which may be agreed during negotiations is likely to be one which is generally recognised by European Union member states as indicating that a herbal medicine can reasonably be accepted as having genuinely traditional usage.
	Herbal medicines with a marketing authorisation and those with a traditional use registration would typically be likely to share similar product characteristics. The proposed quality standards are already successfully met by the many companies, both in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the European Union, which hold marketing authorisations in relation to herbal medicines. Existing European regulatory guidelines on herbal medicines are intended to be applied in a way that is appropriate to the product under consideration and we envisage that this would continue to be the case under a traditional use registration scheme.

Equipment Leasing

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the equipment leasing arrangements entered into by his Department in each of the last four years; and what the cost is to public funds in each case.

Hazel Blears: The only equipment directly leased by the Department (excluding agencies) for its own use is post room equipment at an approximate cost of £76,000 per annum.

Emergency Readmissions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place a copy of the emergency readmission figures for Q3 2001–02 in the Library.

Hazel Blears: Emergency readmission figures for quarter 3, 2001–02 have been placed in the Library.

Domiciliary Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he has taken to address the issues identified in the 10 Annual report of the Chief Inspector of Social Services 2000–01 paragraph 3.71 regarding domiciliary care.

Jacqui Smith: We expect that the National Minimum Standards for domiciliary care will be implemented from July 2002. Quality issues such as reliability of domiciliary care are addressed in the draft National Minimum Standards, which we published in October 2001. Decisions about registration of domiciliary care agencies by the National Care Standards Commission will take account of compliance with the Standards.

NHS Estate (Repair and Maintenance)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of (a) essential, (b) non-essential and (c) all buildings in the NHS estate in England are classified as being in Estatecode condition (i) A, (ii) B, (iii) C and (iv) D.

Hazel Blears: Information in respect of the percentage of 'essential' and 'non-essential' buildings in the National Health Service Estate which are classified as being in Estatecode condition A, B, C, D, is not collected centrally. Similarly, information that is collected centrally in respect of the percentage of 'all buildings' relates to NHS trusts and is not broken down into the A, B, C, D classifications.
	A figure which is available is the average percentage of the occupied floor area of all NHS trust buildings that is in physical condition C and D (ie. below conditions A and B).
	The latest available figure for 2000–01 indicates this figure to be 18 per cent. In comparison with the previous year when the figure was 24 per cent, this indicates a general reduction in the percentage of the estate in which 'all buildings' are below physical conditions A and B.
	Please note that these figures exclude empty NHS trust buildings, premises or facilities which may be awaiting disposal.

Alcohol and Drug Misuse

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths were attributable to alcohol misuse in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: Information collected centrally about the cause of deaths does not systematically record whether a death is attributable to alcohol misuse. A number of health and lifestyle factors can contribute to diseases such as cancer, stroke and coronary heart disease, and it can be difficult to isolate alcohol consumption as the most important of these factors.
	A research review commissioned by the Department in 1997 concluded that between 5,000 and 40,000 deaths are attributable to alcohol misuse each year in England and Wales.

Alcohol and Drug Misuse

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff in his Department work on measures specifically to tackle (a) alcohol misuse and (b) drugs misuse.

Hazel Blears: Within the Sexual Health & Substance Misuse branch, there are 20 staff members working on drug treatment, drug prevention and alcohol issues. Within the wider Department, staff from other branches work alongside the dedicated substance misuse team e.g. statisticians and finance experts. It is not possible to quantify numbers as they work in a wide range of policy areas.

Private Hospital Treatment

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the private hospitals which have carried out operations on behalf of the NHS since 1997; what has been the total cost incurred to the NHS in respect of each private hospital which has carried out operations on behalf of the NHS over that time; and what the total cost of all operations carried out in private hospitals in the UK and abroad on behalf of the NHS has been since 1997.

John Hutton: The information requested in respect of individual private hospitals is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For information on the total cost of all operations carried out in private hospitals in the United Kingdom and abroad, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady) on 15 November 2001, Official Report, column 855W.

Cystic Fibrosis

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce or amend regulations in order to provide free NHS prescriptions for medication required to treat cystic fibrosis.

Hazel Blears: Our policy for national health service prescriptions dispensed in England is that, with the exception of contraceptives, exemption applies to a person rather than to the type of medication prescribed. Further, our policy is to give priority to helping people who may have difficulty in paying charges, rather than extending the exemption arrangements to people with other medical conditions including cystic fibrosis. Arrangements for NHS prescriptions dispensed in Wales are a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Waiting Times

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting times in accident and emergency units were in each (a) constituency and (b) health authority in England since 1992; and what the most recent 12 month figures are.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 28 February 2002
	The average waiting time in accident and emergency units is not collected.
	However, the NHS Plan set a new target for Accident and Emergency: reduce the maximum wait in Accident and Emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge to four hours by 2004.
	With the following interim milestones;
	75 per cent. of patients attending Accident and Emergency to wait 4 hours or less from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge by March 2002.
	90 per cent. of patients attending Accident and Emergency to wait 4 hours or less from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge by March 2003.
	In line with this, from August 2001, the Department has collected data on total time in Accident and Emergency from arrival to transfer, admission or discharge. Information suggests that the national health service is on track to meet the March 2002 milestone. Currently 77 per cent. of all Accident and Emergency attenders spend four hours or less in Accident and Emergency.
	Information on the number of patients waiting from admission from an accident and emergency department is also collected and the latest information is available on the Department's website www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity.

Waiting Times

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for which procedures he guarantees six-month maximum waiting time.

John Hutton: holding answer 5 March 2002
	At present, no procedures are guaranteed a six-month maximum waiting time. However, from 1 April 2002, all patients waiting for their first out-patient appointment will be guaranteed to be seen within six months. This is in line with the targets set out in the NHS Plan.
	The NHS Plan sets out this Government's targets for improving NHS waiting times. By the end of March 2005, the maximum waiting time for all in-patients will have been cut from 18 now down to 15, 12, nine and eventually to six months and the maximum waiting time for initial out-patient appointments will be cut to three months. Urgent cases will continue to be treated in preference and in accordance with clinical need.
	Detailed waiting time data are available in the Library.

Waiting Times

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if health purchasing authorities set minimum waiting times in contracts with NHS and independent providers; and if he has offered guidance on securing minimum waiting times.

John Hutton: holding answer 5 March 2002
	Maximum waiting times for first out-patient appointments from GP referral and for in-patient appointments are set out in the NHS Plan. From 1 April 2002, the maximum waiting time from GP referral to a first outpatient appointment will be six months and the maximum waiting time for an in-patient appointment will be 15 months. Maximum waiting times will fall on a staged basis each year up to 2005, when the maximum waiting time for a first out-patient appointment will be three months and the maximum waiting time for an in-patient appointment will be six months.
	Primary care organisations and strategic health authorities are expected to purchase adequate care from NHS and independent health care providers in order to ensure patients are treated within the maximum waiting times standards.
	There are no minimum waiting times standards set nationally.

NHS Procurement

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the objectives of the NHS procurement initiative ProCure21.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 28 February 2002
	The information is as follows:
	NHS ProCure21—objectives
	NHS ProCure21 aims to improve capital procurement in the national health service through improving design, strengthening the performance of the NHS as a client, benchmarking and promoting better performance, and establishing partnering frameworks to deliver capital schemes. Its objectives are to deliver better facilities, faster and at greater value for money for the NHS, thus delivering significant benefits for patients, staff and visitors. Further details are set out in "Sold On Health", published May 2000, and on the NHS ProCure21 website www.nhs-procure21.gov.uk.
	The National Audit Office uses NHS ProCure21 as a case study in its report "Modernising Construction" (January 2001). Details can be found at www.nao.gov.uk/publications.

NHS Procurement

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procurement methods are available to NHS organisations for projects over the threshold of £1 million in capital value, subject to the approval of the ProCure21 steering group; and what the criteria are for successful application of the alternative methods.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 28 March 2002
	HM Treasury's "Constructing a Better Government Client—Achieving Excellence" identifies the procurement methods available to the national health service. In May 2000 we published "Sold on Health" jointly with HM Treasury and the Public Services Productivity Panel, which set out our proposals for improving capital procurement in the NHS, NHS ProCure 21, and includes details for the piloting of partnering in the north west and west midlands areas.

NHS Procurement

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the principal supply chain partner is in each of the regions where the NHS pilot procurement initiative ProCure21 is in place; who the core suppliers are; and what the selection criteria are for those core suppliers for each of these regions where the initiative is in place.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 28 February 2002
	We are currently undertaking the selection process to identify principal supply chain partners for the two pilot areas for the partnering element of NHS ProCure21. The selections reflect the European Community works directive and include technical and commercial criteria as well as commitment to working closely with the national health service, delivering continuous improvement and innovation, and the ability to deliver high quality facilities for the NHS.

Three Star Hospitals

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research the performance management unit has conducted into three star hospitals; and how many of them have been found to be failing.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 28 February 2002
	No research has been done on the performance of three star national health service trusts since the performance ratings were published last September. Their performance will be re-assessed as part of the next national annual rating exercise.

Autism (West Sussex)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what facilities are available in the West Sussex health authority area for children with autism disorders.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 28 February 2002
	Children with autism will benefit from a range of initiatives we are taking to improve services for disabled children. As part of the quality protects programme, we set new national objectives for children's services which for the first time set out clear outcomes for children and, in some instances, give precise targets which local authorities are expected to achieve. These were updated in "Valuing People".
	Disabled children have been made a priority area in quality protects. The last spending review made substantial additional funding available for the children's services grant which now totals £180 million in 2001–02, £220 million in 2002–03 and £290 million in 2003–04. Of this, £60 million has been earmarked for services for disabled children and their families—£15 million in 2001–02 and 2002–03 and £30 million in 2003–04.
	Currently in West Sussex, there are a number of specific provisions for children with autism. For example, in the Mid Sussex NHS Trust area, a recently developed Joint Assessment Team to diagnose children with these needs. This includes, a consultant paediatrician, a clinical psychologist, a speech therapist and a diagnostic services. Treatment is usually given in conjunction with education and there are special schools in the area where this joint approach can be implemented effectively.
	Another example comes from the Sussex Weald and Downs NHS Trust area, where the Community Paediatric Service runs a child development centre for autistic children who are under five, and work is undertaken with schools who have pupils with these needs. The over fives are dealt with by CAMHS. The trust also works with the Autistic Society to ensure that all treatment is suitable for each individual's needs.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions on the designation of the cases of children who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as eligible for disability living allowance.

Jacqui Smith: I have had no such discussions but understand that parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can claim disability living allowance and have their child's entitlement assessed in the normal way.

Elderly Care

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the spending on care of the elderly per resident of pensionable age in each social service authority was in England and Wales (a) this year and (b) in each of the previous five years; what the average of the spending on care of the elderly per resident of pensionable age in (i) England, (ii) Wales, and (iii) the north-west of England was (A) this year and (B) in each of the previous five years.

Jacqui Smith: Information on spending on social care for the elderly per resident of pensionable age is not available centrally. Table 1 shows spending per financial year on social care of the elderly per resident aged 65 or over for each council with social services responsibilities in England from 1995–96 to 1999–2000 (the latest year for which data are available). As a result of local government reorganisation, there are differences in the councils in existence during this period. Table 2 shows the average spend on care of the elderly per resident aged 65 or over for England and north-west England. Data for Wales are the responsibility of the National Assembly for Wales.
	
		Table 1: Expenditure per financial year on social care of the elderly per resident aged 65 or over for each council with social services responsibilities -- £
		
			  1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 
		
		
			 Avon 516 — — — — 
			 Barking and Dagenham 631 702 766 831 933 
			 Barnet 633 669 730 789 848 
			 Barnsley 505 543 542 569 616 
			 Bath and North East Somerset UA — 421 544 557 594 
			 Bedfordshire (old) 541 592 — — — 
			 Bedfordshire (remaining) — — 610 615 643 
			 Berkshire 534 555 720 — — 
			 Bexley 551 662 714 722 760 
			 Birmingham 628 695 781 842 915 
			 Blackburn with Darwen UA — — — 890 971 
			 Blackpool UA — — — 723 755 
			 Bolton 552 642 750 755 809 
			 Bournemouth UA — — 606 602 595 
			 Bracknell Forest UA — — — 650 681 
			 Bradford 564 614 840 894 942 
			 Brent 756 798 881 847 880 
			 Brighton and Hove UA — — 672 730 795 
			 Bristol UA — 741 712 859 943 
			 Bromley 434 474 504 657 719 
			 Buckinghamshire (old) 514 540 — — — 
			 Buckinghamshire (remaining) — — 592 621 671 
			 Bury 689 838 740 806 864 
			 Calderdale 735 801 858 924 963 
			 Cambridgeshire (old) 409 372 434 — — 
			 Cambridgeshire (remaining) — — — 511 558 
			 Camden 1,148 1,254 1,317 1,589 1,599 
			 Cheshire (old) 459 601 653 — — 
			 Cheshire (remaining) — — — 691 747 
			 City of London 2,102 2,241 2,216 2,227 2,167 
			 Cleveland 452 — — — — 
			 Cornwall 348 458 543 569 548 
			 Coventry 525 594 611 670 737 
			 Croydon 590 730 775 787 814 
			 Cumbria 427 509 541 556 597 
			 Darlington UA — — 435 398 695 
			 Derby UA — — 698 747 792 
			 Derbyshire (old) 558 633 — — — 
			 Derbyshire (remaining) — — 671 481 673 
			 Devon (old) 465 539 585 — — 
			 Devon (remaining) — — — 566 629 
			 Doncaster 654 769 817 857 908 
			 Dorset (old) 349 409 — — — 
			 Dorset (remaining) — — 435 413 437 
			 Dudley 526 541 642 699 719 
			 Durham (old) 479 539 — — — 
			 Durham (remaining) — — 597 630 849 
			 Ealing 627 668 800 744 1,024 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire UA — 477 591 612 774 
			 East Sussex (old) 377 491 — — — 
			 East Sussex (remaining) — — 462 505 536 
			 Enfield 608 697 787 723 705 
			 Essex (old) 453 507 516 — — 
			 Essex (remaining) — — — 519 580 
			 Gateshead 613 694 855 890 963 
			 Gloucestershire 297 343 340 474 478 
			 Greenwich 742 784 941 1,004 1,055 
			 Hackney 1,386 1,399 1,439 1,501 1,542 
			 Halton UA — — — 790 855 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,105 1,166 1,325 1,454 1,831 
			 Hampshire (old) 433 502 — — — 
			 Hampshire (remaining) — — 478 479 488 
			 Haringey 1,027 1,060 1,108 1,160 1,158 
			 Harrow 600 602 627 715 765 
			 Hartlepool UA — 638 696 625 663 
			 Havering 500 581 631 634 627 
			 Hereford and Worcester 414 457 447 — — 
			 Herefordshire UA — — — 350 502 
			 Hertfordshire 494 535 570 595 659 
			 Hillingdon 602 624 636 653 708 
			 Hounslow 639 685 717 844 929 
			 Humberside 523 — — — — 
			 Isle of Wight UA 383 504 521 558 605 
			 Isles of Scilly 549 540 577 718 844 
			 Islington 1,279 1,439 1,597 1,417 1,577 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 930 944 1,014 1,013 1,067 
			 Kent (old) 504 567 548 — — 
			 Kent (remaining) — — — 580 625 
			 Kingston upon Hull UA — 675 646 875 1,005 
			 Kingston upon Thames 606 691 718 808 858 
			 Kirklees 616 684 698 761 822 
			 Knowsley 472 466 531 593 522 
			 Lambeth 973 1,037 1,132 1,119 1,068 
			 Lancashire (old) 527 613 691 — — 
			 Lancashire (remaining) — — — 707 734 
			 Leeds 571 602 650 664 701 
			 Leicester UA — — 482 782 761 
			 Leicestershire (old) 499 530 — — — 
			 Leicestershire (remaining) — — 514 525 547 
			 Lewisham 887 955 1,000 1,056 1,125 
			 Lincolnshire 344 357 390 534 556 
			 Liverpool 827 876 825 937 1,005 
			 Luton UA — — 700 759 802 
			 Manchester 802 905 905 1,014 1,138 
			 Medway Towns UA — — — 641 734 
			 Merton 554 636 670 777 900 
			 Middlesbrough UA — 561 603 658 851 
			 Milton Keynes UA — — 672 703 781 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 533 568 680 709 779 
			 Newham 1,160 1,138 1,167 1,139 1,172 
			 Norfolk 448 527 568 618 647 
			 North East Lincolnshire UA — 533 542 615 727 
			 North Lincolnshire — 691 709 692 744 
			 North Somerset UA — 453 503 536 561 
			 North Tyneside 350 385 551 586 621 
			 North Yorkshire (old) 453 — — — — 
			 North Yorkshire (remaining) — 510 547 581 636 
			 Northamptonshire 486 533 544 597 609 
			 Northumberland 505 661 781 811 869 
			 Nottingham UA — — — 798 934 
			 Nottinghamshire (old) 630 705 733 — — 
			 Nottinghamshire (remaining) — — — 734 743 
			 Oldham 676 746 816 831 920 
			 Oxfordshire 438 480 538 568 613 
			 Peterborough UA — — — 477 615 
			 Plymouth UA — — — 740 754 
			 Poole UA — — 458 488 503 
			 Portsmouth UA — — 766 808 867 
			 Reading UA — — — 612 793 
			 Redbridge 517 575 631 672 723 
			 Redcar and Cleveland UA — 584 613 659 682 
			 Richmond upon Thames 622 707 763 762 792 
			 Rochdale 635 675 721 769 830 
			 Rotherham 575 615 756 807 895 
			 Rutland UA — — 488 512 554 
			 Salford 605 815 873 946 1,029 
			 Sandwell 609 725 828 887 956 
			 Sefton 531 595 624 715 767 
			 Sheffield 641 701 716 783 820 
			 Shropshire (old) 443 521 582 — — 
			 Shropshire (remaining) — — — 580 620 
			 Slough UA — — — 867 935 
			 Solihull 402 422 425 442 470 
			 Somerset 306 320 333 347 466 
			 South Gloucestershire UA — 403 420 461 502 
			 South Tyneside 587 653 705 721 767 
			 Southampton UA — — 638 689 772 
			 Southend UA — — — 546 554 
			 Southwark 1,194 1,227 1,290 1,756 1,503 
			 St. Helens 594 659 698 833 992 
			 Staffordshire (old) 505 555 — — — 
			 Staffordshire (remaining) — — 538 582 654 
			 Stockport 598 683 676 749 788 
			 Stockton on Tees UA — 623 634 775 830 
			 Stoke-on-Trent — — 755 815 894 
			 Suffolk 466 547 568 596 641 
			 Sunderland 563 628 652 856 963 
			 Surrey 442 485 493 565 570 
			 Sutton 606 658 693 772 841 
			 Swindon UA — — 551 453 551 
			 Thameside 560 672 741 773 864 
			 Telford and Wrekin UA — — — 732 815 
			 Thurrock UA — — — 657 688 
			 Torbay UA — — — 642 713 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,203 1,294 1,338 1,318 1,483 
			 Trafford 417 556 609 651 728 
			 Wakefield 499 560 561 609 671 
			 Walsall 508 610 670 724 884 
			 Waltham Forest 679 750 890 996 1,037 
			 Wandsworth 922 1,021 1,090 1,133 1,184 
			 Warrington UA — — — 718 799 
			 Warwickshire 421 477 507 527 550 
			 West Berkshire UA — — — 672 711 
			 West Sussex 432 490 529 514 523 
			 Westminster 1,009 1,049 1,144 1,148 1,206 
			 Wigan 520 580 626 692 743 
			 Wiltshire (old) 382 482 — — — 
			 Wiltshire (remaining) — — 474 472 631 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead UA — — — 555 616 
			 Wirral 555 590 656 662 770 
			 Wokingham UA — — — 454 562 
			 Wolverhampton 688 791 843 879 938 
			 Worcestershire — — — 490 550 
			 York UA — 516 545 575 617 
		
	
	UA = Unitary Authority
	Sources:
	1. Population data—Office for National Statistics
	2. Expenditure data—form RO3
	
		Table 2: Expenditure per financial year on social care of the elderly per resident aged 65 or over for England and north-west England -- £
		
			  1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 
		
		
			 North-west (old) 544 647 695 740 — 
			 Merseyside 631 675 693 770 — 
			 North-west (new) — — — — 806 
			  
			 England 526 590 633 671 725 
		
	
	Sources:
	1. Population data—Office for National Statistics
	2. Expenditure data—form RO3

Gynaecologists

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) female and (b) male gynaecologists are employed by each local health authority in England.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	There has been a 42 per cent. increase in female obstetric and gynaecology consultants since 1997.
	
		Number of hospital medical staff, of which consultants within the obstetrics and gynaecology specialty by gender and health authority(22), as at 30 September 2001
		
			All staff  Consultants  
			   All Male Female All Male Female 
		
		
			 England  4,150 2,170 1,980 1,220 930 290 
			 
			 Health authority
			 Avon QD8 100 40 60 20 20 10 
			 Barking and Havering QAP 50 20 30 20 10 10 
			 Barnet, Enfield and Haringey QEW 40 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Barnsley QCG 20 10 10 0 0 (23)— 
			 Bedfordshire QA6 40 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Berkshire QA7 70 30 40 10 10 0 
			 Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich QEY 60 40 30 20 20 0 
			 Birmingham QD9 130 70 60 40 40 10 
			 Bradford QDD 50 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Brent and Harrow QAR 40 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Buckinghamshire QA8 60 30 30 10 10 0 
			 Bury and Rochdale QCT 30 10 20 10 10 0 
			 Calderdale and Kirklees QDT 50 20 30 10 10 0 
			 Cambridge QER 70 40 30 20 20 0 
			 Camden and Islington QAT 120 50 70 40 20 20 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly QDV 20 10 10 10 0 0 
			 County Durham QDE 40 30 10 20 10 0 
			 Coventry QEA 30 20 10 10 10 0 
			 Croydon QAD 20 10 0 10 0 0 
			 Doncaster QCK 30 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Dorset QDW 50 30 20 10 10 (23)— 
			 Dudley QEC 20 10 10 10 0 0 
			 Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow QAV 110 50 60 30 20 10 
			 East Kent QAE 50 40 10 20 20 0 
			 East Lancashire QCX 40 20 20 20 10 10 
			 East London and The City QAW 100 50 50 40 30 10 
			 East Riding QDF 40 30 20 10 10 0 
			 East Surrey QAK 30 20 10 10 10 0 
			 East Sussex QAM 50 30 20 20 10 0 
			 Gateshead and South Tyneside QDG 50 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Gloucestershire QDY 30 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Herefordshire QED 10 10 0 0 0 (23)— 
			 Hertfordshire QEX 70 40 30 20 20 0 
			 Hillingdon QA2 20 10 10 10 0 0 
			 Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire QEV 50 30 20 10 10 0 
			 Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster QA3 80 40 40 30 20 10 
			 Kingston and Richmond QAG 30 10 20 10 0 0 
			 Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham QAH 180 80 100 30 20 10 
			 Leeds QDH 80 40 40 20 20 0 
			 Leicestershire QCL 80 40 40 20 20 0 
			 Lincolnshire QCM 40 20 20 10 10 (23)— 
			 Liverpool QC2 70 40 40 20 20 10 
			 Manchester QC3 80 30 50 20 10 10 
			 Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth QAJ 60 30 30 20 10 10 
			 Morecambe Bay QC4 30 20 10 0 0 (23)— 
			 Newcastle and North Tyneside QDJ 50 30 30 10 10 0 
			 Norfolk QET 60 40 20 20 10 0 
			 North and East Devon QDX 30 20 20 10 10 0 
			 North and Mid Hampshire QD1 30 20 10 10 0 0 
			 North Cheshire QCV 20 10 10 10 10 0 
			 North Cumbria QDK 20 20 10 10 10 0 
			 North Derbyshire QCH 20 10 10 0 0 0 
			 North Essex QAX 60 30 20 10 10 0 
			 North Nottinghamshire QCN 20 10 10 10 0 0 
			 North Staffordshire QEH 30 20 10 10 10 0 
			 North West Lancashire QCY 50 20 20 10 10 0 
			 North Yorkshire QDR 60 40 30 20 10 0 
			 Northamptonshire QCC 40 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Northumberland QDM 40 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Nottingham QCP 70 30 40 20 10 10 
			 Oxfordshire QCE 60 30 30 20 20 0 
			 Redbridge and Waltham Forest QA5 20 10 10 10 0 0 
			 Rotherham QCQ 20 10 10 10 0 0 
			 Salford and Trafford QC6 30 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Sandwell QEE 20 10 10 0 0 (23)— 
			 Sefton QC7 40 20 10 10 10 0 
			 Sheffield QCR 50 20 30 20 20 10 
			 Shropshire QEF 20 10 10 10 0 0 
			 Somerset QD5 30 20 10 10 10 0 
			 South and West Devon QD6 50 30 20 10 10 0 
			 South Cheshire QCW 60 30 30 20 10 0 
			 South Derbyshire QCJ 30 10 20 10 10 0 
			 South Essex QAY 30 20 20 10 10 0 
			 South Humber QDL 30 20 10 10 10 0 
			 South Lancashire QC1 10 0 0 0 0 (23)— 
			 South Staffordshire QEJ 30 20 10 10 10 0 
			 Southampton and South West Hampshire QD3 50 20 30 20 10 0 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley QC5 20 10 10 10 0 0 
			 Stockport QC8 20 10 10 10 0 0 
			 Suffolk QCF 40 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Sunderland QDN 30 10 20 10 0 0 
			 Tees QDP 50 30 20 20 10 10 
			 Wakefield QDQ 20 10 10 10 10 (23)— 
			 Walsall QEK 20 10 10 0 0 0 
			 Warwickshire QEL 30 10 10 10 10 0 
			 West Kent QAF 60 40 30 20 20 0 
			 West Pennine QC9 30 20 10 10 10 0 
			 West Surrey QAL 70 30 40 20 10 10 
			 West Sussex QAN 60 30 20 10 10 0 
			 Wigan and Bolton QDA 40 20 20 10 10 0 
			 Wiltshire QD7 30 20 20 10 10 (23)— 
			 Wirral QDC 30 20 10 10 10 0 
			 Wolverhampton QEM 20 10 10 10 10 0 
			 Worcester QEN 40 20 20 10 10 0 
		
	
	(22) Staff holding appointments in more than one HA are included separately in each HA. The sum of HA totals therefore differ slightly from the England total and a direct comparison between England total and HA totals is not advised.
	(23) Denotes zero
	Notes:
	1. 0 denotes 5 or less
	2. Figures rounded to the nearest 10
	Source:
	Department of Health 2001 medical and dental workforce census

Compensation

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the total amount of compensation paid in out of court settlements for patients in each local health authority area in each of the last 10 years.

Hazel Blears: The Department does not hold figures for all aspects of litigation made against the national health service and therefore the information requested is not held centrally.

Dentists

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in England were trained at dental schools in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland; and what proportion each represents of the total.

Hazel Blears: The number of General Dental Service (GDS) dentists in England trained at dental schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the percentage of the total number of dentists is shown in the table.
	The total number of dentists covers principals on a HA list, their assistants and vocational dental practitioners.
	
		
			  Area of qualification  
			  Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Dentists working in England 
		
		
			 Principals 
			 Number 1,099 444 91 16,124 
			 Percentage of principals 7 3 1 — 
			  
			 Assistants 
			 Number 43 4 3 1,214 
			 Percentage of assistants 4 0 0 — 
			  
			 VDPs 
			 Number 25 15 7 599 
			 Percentage of VDPs 4 3 1 — 
			 Total 
			 Number 1,167 463 101 17,937 
			 Percentage of total dentists — — — —

Dentists

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in England were trained at dental schools outside the United Kingdom; and what proportion they represent of the total.

Hazel Blears: The number of General Dental Service (GDS) dentists in England trained at dental schools outside the UK and the percentage of the total number of dentists in England at 31 December 2001 is shown in the table. The figures exclude dentists whose title of registration is shown as Statutory Exams and dentists awaiting entry.
	The total number of dentists covers principals on a HA list, their assistants and vocational dental practitioners.
	
		General Dental Service: Number of dentists trained at dental schools outside the UK and the percentage of the total number of dentists in England at 31 December 2001
		
			   Dentists qualified overseas Dentists working in England Percentage of dentists who work in England qualified overseas 
		
		
			 Principals 2,094 16,124 13 
			 Assistants 717 1,214 59 
			 VDPs 1 599 0 
			 Total 2,812 17,937 16

Hearing Aids

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce in which health authorities his Christmas Eve announcement on hearing aids will be implemented; and what criteria will determine his choice of health authority.

Jacqui Smith: We have invited expressions of interest by 8 March 2002 from all health communities not yet involved in the modernising hearing aid services project. Decisions will be made shortly thereafter, based on a number of criteria including geographical distribution, preparedness, and the support of the whole local health community.

Hearing Aids

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in the Isle of Wight were trained at each Scottish dental school; and what proportion they represent of the total.

Hazel Blears: Out of a total of 40 General Dental Service (GDS) dentists working in the Isle of Wight at the end of January 2002, 7 or 18 per cent. were trained in Scotland.
	Of the seven dentists who were trained in Scotland, four were trained in Dundee, two in Glasgow, and one in Edinburgh.
	Dentists include principals on an HA list, their assistants and vocational dental practitioners.

Health Expenditure

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of expenditure on health was spent in the last 12 months of patients' lives in the latest year for which figures are available.

John Hutton: The information requested is not held centrally.

Asthma

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have been treated for asthma in each London borough, in each of the last five years.

John Hutton: The figures shown represent the number of admissions to national health service trusts within the London health authorities, where the main diagnosis was asthma 1 in the last five years. Figures represent children aged up to 14 years.
	
		Number of admissions to NHS Hospitals in England where the main diagnosis was asthma(24) by health authority of treatment, (London health authorities); finished episodes; children aged 0–14, 1996–97 to 2000–01.
		
			 Health authority of treatment 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 All 5 years 
		
		
			 QA2 Hillingdon 426 384 351 162 126 1,449 
			 QA3 Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster 523 480 357 196 255 1,811 
			 QA4 Enfield and Haringey 403 292 273 257 224 1,449 
			 QA5 Redbridge and Waltham Forest 509 395 286 226 222 1,638 
			 QAA Bexley and Greenwich 395 306 288 211 204 1,404 
			 QAC Bromley 173 166 120 142 122 723 
			 QAD Croydon 252 271 215 154 173 1,065 
			 QAG Kingston and Richmond 0 0 0 135 122 257 
			 QAH Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham 967 796 722 645 552 3,682 
			 QAJ Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 775 539 553 473 378 2,718 
			 QAP Barking and Havering 244 195 179 149 136 903 
			 QAQ Barnet 175 220 224 232 206 1,057 
			 QAR Brent and Harrow 272 219 198 213 125 1,027 
			 QAT Camden and Islington 452 401 311 297 325 1,786 
			 QAV Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow 395 423 532 428 398 2,176 
			 QAW East London and The City 579 588 678 655 508 3,008 
			  
			 Total 6,540 5,675 5,287 4,575 4,076 26,153 
		
	
	(24) Asthma (ICD-10: 'J45' thru 'J46X'
	Notes:
	1. Admissions are defined as the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	2. The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	3. Figures have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health

NHS Catering

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the applicants for the national franchise for NHS catering; and if he will name the successful applicant.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 1 March 2002
	The initial exercise to examine his proposal identified that further work was required to fully explore the significant and complex issues which a franchise option raises. This work is continuing and, as previously noted any franchise arrangements will be subject to European Union regulations on open competition within the community. Since we have not yet reached this stage there are no applicants.

Quality Protects

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each local authority responsible for implementing the Quality Protects programme under LAC(98)28 and subsequent circulars budgeted to spend in 2001–02; and what the (a) actual and (b) budgeted spend was in the previous two years.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 4 March 2002
	The tables set out the quality protects grant allocations made to local authorities with social services functions for 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2001–02, together with the actual amounts spent by each authority on implementing the programme in the first three years.
	
		Quality Protects—1998–99 -- £
		
			  Grant allocation Expenditure incurred 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 31,000.00 38,214.00 
			 Barnet 32,500.00 25,347.00 
			 Barnsley 32,500.00 35,296.00 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 32,500.00 40,299.00 
			 Bedfordshire 32,500.00 32,674.41 
			 Bexley 32,500.00 32,848.00 
			 Birmingham 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 32,500.00 33,897.00 
			 Blackpool 32,500.00 31,637.00 
			 Bolton 32,500.00 32,691.41 
			 Bournemouth 32,500.00 14,154.00 
			 Bracknell Forest 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Bradford 32,500.00 31,790.00 
			 Brent 32,500.00 34,466.75 
			 Brighton and Hove 32,500.00 32,943.00 
			 Bristol 32,500.00 34,494.12 
			 Bromley 32,500.00 32,747.00 
			 Buckinghamshire 32,500.00 45,153.00 
			 Bury 32,500.00 49.807.00 
			 Calderdale 32,500.00 32,934.38 
			 Cambridgeshire 32,500.00 35,680.00 
			 Camden 32,500.00 34,825.00 
			 Cheshire 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 City of London 3,000.00 5,000.00 
			 Cornwall 32,500.00 45,563.00 
			 Coventry 32,500.00 33,213.00 
			 Croydon 32,500.00 34,973.00 
			 Cumbria 32,500.00 33,110.00 
			 Darlington 32,500.00 34,242.00 
			 Derby 32,500.00 32,980.00 
			 Derbyshire 32,500.00 32,816.00 
			 Devon 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Doncaster 32,500.00 25,544.89 
			 Dorset 32,500.00 34,502.00 
			 Dudley 32,500.00 34,544.00 
			 Durham 32,500.00 34,542.42 
			 Ealing 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 32,500.00 35,820.00 
			 East Sussex 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Enfield 32,500.00 32,979.00 
			 Essex 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Gateshead 32,500.00 31,731.00 
			 Gloucestershire 32,500.00 32,100.00 
			 Greenwich 32,500.00 32,756.00 
			 Hackney 32,500.00 34,369.22 
			 Halton 32,500.00 35,696.82 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 32,500.00 32,831.37 
			 Hampshire 32,141.00 33,035.18 
			 Haringey 32,500.00 37,046.00 
			 Harrow 32,500.00 32,584.00 
			 Hartlepool 32,500.00 24,801.00 
			 Havering 32,500.00 32,774.00 
			 Herefordshire 32,500.00 37,345.14 
			 Hertfordshire 32,500.00 49,257.00 
			 Hillingdon 32,500.00 9,531.95 
			 Hounslow 32,500.00 48,093.00 
			 Isle of Wight 32,500.00 32,510.00 
			 Isles of Scilly 3,000.00 3,000.00 
			 Islington 32,500.00 30,435.00 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Kent 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Kingston upon Hull 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Kingston upon Thames 32,500.00 32,633.62 
			 Kirklees 32,500.00 30,062.64 
			 Knowsley 32,500.00 28,347.00 
			 Lambeth 32,500.00 32,885.00 
			 Lancashire 32,500.00 39,783.00 
			 Leeds 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Leicester City 32,500.00 34,424.00 
			 Leicestershire 32,500.00 33,871.57 
			 Lewisham 32,500.00 33,754.00 
			 Lincolnshire 32,500.00 32,653.16 
			 Liverpool 32,500.00 34,541.00 
			 Luton 32,500.00 32,561.72 
			 Manchester 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Medway 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Merton 32,500.00 28,252.00 
			 Middlesbrough 32,500.00 32,753.00 
			 Milton Keynes 32,500.00 33,221.00 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 32,500.00 33,812.36 
			 Newham 32,500.00 32,804.00 
			 Norfolk 32,500.00 42,691.00 
			 North East Lincolnshire 32,500.00 31,225.14 
			 North Lincolnshire 32,500.00 35,322.31 
			 North Somerset 32,500.00 32,544.00 
			 North Tyneside 32,500.00 33,095.00 
			 North Yorkshire 32,500.00 27,199.00 
			 Northamptonshire 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Northumberland 32,500.00 34,072.00 
			 Nottingham 32,500.00 38,107.00 
			 Nottinghamshire 32,500.00 38,123.00 
			 Oldham 32,500.00 38,652.00 
			 Oxfordshire 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Peterborough 32,500.00 32,464.00 
			 Plymouth 32,500.00 32,160.00 
			 Poole 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Portsmouth 32,500.00 29,616.00 
			 Reading 32,500.00 35,109.00 
			 Redbridge 32,500.00 32,717.43 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 32,500.00 32,613.09 
			 Richmond upon Thames 32,500.00 33,316.00 
			 Rochdale 32,400.00 32,508.00 
			 Rotherham 32,500.00 32,529.00 
			 Rutland 32,500.00 33,195.00 
			 Salford 32,500.00 23,827.00 
			 Sandwell 32,500.00 32,266.00 
			 Sefton 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Sheffield 32,500.00 25,662.47 
			 Shropshire 32,500.00 29,299.77 
			 Slough 32,500.00 16,867.27 
			 Solihull 32,500.00 34,505.00 
			 Somerset 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 South Gloucestershire 32,500.00 34,734.00 
			 South Tyneside 32,500.00 23,052.00 
			 Southampton 32,500.00 33,189.39 
			 Southend-on-Sea 32,500.00 40,515.00 
			 Southwark 32,500.00 34,360.00 
			 St. Helens 32,500.00 30,968.00 
			 Staffordshire 32,500.00 34,085.00 
			 Stockport 32,500.00 34,713.00 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 32,500.00 35,342.00 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 32,500.00 35,677.67 
			 Suffolk 32,500.00 38,950.89 
			 Sunderland 32,500.00 30,181.00 
			 Surrey 32,500.00 54,612.00 
			 Sutton 32,500.00 32,752.00 
			 Swindon 32,500.00 32,503.00 
			 Tameside 32,500.00 36,302.00 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 Thurrock 32,500.00 34,860.00 
			 Torbay 32,500.00 32,613.00 
			 Tower Hamlets 32,500.00 42,513.71 
			 Trafford 32,500.00 32,934.00 
			 Wakefield 32,500.00 33,535.00 
			 Walsall 32,500.00 32,185.00 
			 Waltham Forest 32,500.00 47,143.00 
			 Wandsworth 32,500.00 50,533.00 
			 Warrington 32,500.00 34,160.00 
			 Warwickshire 32,500.00 32,178.06 
			 West Berkshire 32,500.00 34,500.00 
			 West Sussex 32,500.00 33,210.00 
			 Westminster 32,500.00 28,139.00 
			 Wigan 32,500.00 32,841.00 
			 Wiltshire 32,500.00 33,783.00 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 32,500.00 34,324.00 
			 Wirral 32,500.00 35,055.00 
			 Wokingham 32,500.00 34,954.00 
			 Wolverhampton 32,500.00 20,200.00 
			 Worcestershire 32,500.00 32,500.00 
			 York 32,500.00 32,508.00 
		
	
	
		Quality Protects—1999–2000 -- £
		
			  Grant allocation Expenditure incurred 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 378,953.00 379,302.00 
			 Barnet 540,110.00 504,748.00 
			 Barnsley 278,096.00 278,096.00 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 154,973.00 184,663.00 
			 Bedfordshire 356,687.00 366,929.00 
			 Bexley 280,521.00 291,000.00 
			 Birmingham 2,591,786.00 2,898,652.28 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 273,182.00 262,138.00 
			 Blackpool 236,835.00 238,381.00 
			 Bolton 396,975.00 397,000.00 
			 Bournemouth 229,845.00 231,331.00 
			 Bracknell Forest 117,522.00 132,308.00 
			 Bradford 884,401.00 900,285.62 
			 Brent 976,211.00 985,653.00 
			 Brighton and Hove 429,491.00 429,470.00 
			 Bristol 713,666.00 719,140.39 
			 Bromley 358,039.00 358,851.00 
			 Buckinghamshire 387,837.00 388,279.00 
			 Bury 219,510.00 232,419.00 
			 Calderdale 259,611.00 276,897.00 
			 Cambridgeshire 455,000.00 455,000.00 
			 Camden 876,424.00 879,962.00 
			 Cheshire 592,040.00 592,040.00 
			 City of London 16,286.00 11,130.00 
			 Cornwall 488,072.00 488,000.00 
			 Coventry 541,941.00 542,000.00 
			 Croydon 717,253.00 812,613.00 
			 Cumbria 444,301.00 464,002.00 
			 Darlington 132,436.00 140,870.00 
			 Derby 386,441.00 386,838.00 
			 Derbyshire 604,045.00 735,009.00 
			 Devon 624,424.00 624,423.00 
			 Doncaster 395,605.00 408,032.91 
			 Dorset 302,431.00 302,777.00 
			 Dudley 324,165.00 350,641.00 
			 Durham 599,079.00 413,704.00 
			 Ealing 838,296.00 939,685.00 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 215,630.00 202,183.00 
			 East Sussex 540,272.00 540,360.00 
			 Enfield 522,279.00 522,718.00 
			 Essex 1,268,060.00 1,281,958.00 
			 Gateshead 297,693.00 305,222.00 
			 Gloucestershire 523,690.00 422,352.00 
			 Greenwich 760,609.00 1,111,456.00 
			 Hackney 1,227,189.00 1,187,987.47 
			 Halton 226,711.00 226,711.00 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 698,515.00 713,096.63 
			 Hampshire 1,075,112.00 1,399,134.00 
			 Haringey 987,351.00 935,986.00 
			 Harrow 305,314.00 313,712.00 
			 Hartlepool 147,244.00 147,261.00 
			 Havering 252,220.00 253,926.50 
			 Herefordshire 153,445.00 154,712.08 
			 Hertfordshire 1,066,840.00 1,096,700.00 
			 Hillingdon 380,758.00 459,984.00 
			 Hounslow 514,769.00 529,483.00 
			 Isle of Wight 150,553.00 146,269.00 
			 Isles of Scilly 12,261.00 13,160.00 
			 Islington 1,023,002.00 1,043,385.00 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 560,122.00 560,122.00 
			 Kent 1,458,706.00 1,458,706.00 
			 Kingston upon Hull 499,512.00 502,223.00 
			 Kingston upon Thames 174,194.00 174,194.00 
			 Kirklees 547,178.00 551,729.00 
			 Knowsley 422,471.00 432,643.00 
			 Lambeth 1,573,817.00 1,590,658.00 
			 Lancashire 1,365,835.00 1,474,651.00 
			 Leeds 1,048,900.00 1,276,450.00 
			 Leicester City 686,801.00 688,298.00 
			 Leicestershire 411,678.00 461,898.00 
			 Lewisham 1,111,262.00 1,111,262.00 
			 Lincolnshire 565,509.00 579,047.00 
			 Liverpool 1,149,943.00 1,150,061.00 
			 Luton 359,059.00 380,737.35 
			 Manchester 1,394,058.00 1,394,058.00 
			 Medway 299,593.00 300,103.00 
			 Merton 323,737.00 324,354.00 
			 Middlesbrough 313,474.00 317,586.00 
			 Milton Keynes 293,645.00 186,105.82 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 539,359.00 793,068.00 
			 Newham 1,070,696.00 1,072,986.00 
			 Norfolk 722,580.00 760,075.72 
			 North East Lincolnshire 224,251.00 225,105.00 
			 North Lincolnshire 158,955.00 166,489.81 
			 North Somerset 151,981.00 158,211.00 
			 North Tyneside 278,868.00 278,868.00 
			 North Yorkshire 438,571.00 439,000.00 
			 Northamptonshire 659,698.00 660,000.00 
			 Northumberland 296,640.00 262,759.00 
			 Nottingham 701,493.00 703,983.00 
			 Nottinghamshire 712,558.00 713,150.00 
			 Oldham 374,513.00 375,010.00 
			 Oxfordshire 586,043.00 544,518.94 
			 Peterborough 246,202.00 248,789.00 
			 Plymouth 438,917.00 436,756.00 
			 Poole 140,267.00 141,318.00 
			 Portsmouth 345,827.00 345,827.00 
			 Reading 254,616.00 249,277.00 
			 Redbridge 375,752.00 258,973.00 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 222,123.00 223,894.91 
			 Richmond upon Thames 199,650.00 192,684.00 
			 Rochdale 371,504.00 391,712.00 
			 Rotherham 327,544.00 346,518.00 
			 Rutland 32,573.00 33,178.00 
			 Salford 425,589.00 417,187.00 
			 Sandwell 544,269.00 544,035.00 
			 Sefton 411,861.00 394,443.00 
			 Sheffield 761,467.00 811,922.00 
			 Shropshire 209,125.00 209,125.00 
			 Slough 250,111.00 250,168.00 
			 Solihull 223,969.00 212,642.00 
			 Somerset 436,982.00 446,236.00 
			 South Gloucestershire 178,281.00 186,677.00 
			 South Tyneside 275,020.00 275,020.00 
			 Southampton 411,525.00 439,783.00 
			 Southend-on-Sea 259,093.00 260,576.00 
			 Southwark 1,269,129.00 1,244,778.00 
			 St. Helens 233,469.00 244,736.00 
			 Staffordshire 674,749.00 695,807.00 
			 Stockport 294,530.00 294,530.00 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 267,578.00 267,578.00 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 347,894.00 357,048.00 
			 Suffolk 602,421.00 614,941.00 
			 Sunderland 497,704.00 588,099.00 
			 Surrey 868,583.00 956,223.00 
			 Sutton 249,730.00 249,730.00 
			 Swindon 201,610.00 200,214.00 
			 Tameside 314,349.00 319,189.00 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 206,945.00 208,529.02 
			 Thurrock 194,469.00 196,586.84 
			 Torbay 174,772.00 174,648.00 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,034,484.00 1,008,313.81 
			 Trafford 289,088.00 289,088.00 
			 Wakefield 367,119.00 367,119.00 
			 Walsall 462,560.00 462,560.00 
			 Waltham Forest 669,924.00 770,139.00 
			 Wandsworth 866,095.00 1,115,666.00 
			 Warrington 194,551.00 250,672.65 
			 Warwickshire 426,028.00 475,478.00 
			 West Berkshire 112,417.00 116,624.00 
			 West Sussex 676,043.00 737,735.00 
			 Westminster 755,373.00 752,691.00 
			 Wigan 360,316.00 337,962.00 
			 Wiltshire 357,641.00 362,613.00 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 123,163.00 130,990.00 
			 Wirral 542,273.00 716,388.00 
			 Wokingham 85,864.00 85,864.00 
			 Wolverhampton 470,718.00 510,181.00 
			 Worcestershire 493,543.00 493,543.00 
			 York 164,894.00 165,715.00 
		
	
	
		Quality Protects—2000–01 -- £
		
			  Grant allocation Expenditure incurred 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 608,000.00 611,455.00 
			 Barnet 861,000.00 893,098.00 
			 Barnsley 440,000.00 440,000.00 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 243,000.00 280,140.00 
			 Bedfordshire 560,000.00 560,990.02 
			 Bexley 443,000.00 453,000.00 
			 Birmingham 4,097,000.00 5,218,092.00 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 430,000.00 430,000.00 
			 Blackpool 379,000.00 385,893.00 
			 Bolton 625,000.00 643,729.00 
			 Bournemouth 365,000.00 367,974.00 
			 Bracknell Forest 182,000.00 181,975.00 
			 Bradford 1,398,000.00 1,433,280.00 
			 Brent 1,540,000.00 1,915,281.00 
			 Brighton and Hove 684,979.00 693,342.00 
			 Bristol 1,134,000.00 1,260,884.00 
			 Bromley 563,000.00 563,313.00 
			 Buckinghamshire 609,000.00 609,033.00 
			 Bury 351,000.00 364,262.00 
			 Calderdale 410,000.00 417,905.00 
			 Cambridgeshire 718,000.00 766,472.00 
			 Camden 1,404,000.00 1,406,438.00 
			 Cheshire 930,000.00 950,552.00 
			 City of London 26,000.00 29,143.17 
			 Cornwall 764,000.00 942,122.00 
			 Coventry 853,000.00 972,269.00 
			 Croydon 1,140,000.00 1,147,234.00 
			 Cumbria 706,000.00 922,012.00 
			 Darlington 212,000.00 219,974.00 
			 Derby 612,000.00 612,937.00 
			 Derbyshire 957,000.00 1,673,176.00 
			 Devon 986,000.00 985,999.00 
			 Doncaster 618,000.00 623,050.55 
			 Dorset 479,000.00 492,973.00 
			 Dudley 507,000.00 507,000.00 
			 Durham 951,000.00 1,057,617.00 
			 Ealing 1,334,000.00 1,334,000.00 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 344,000.00 333,481.00 
			 East Sussex 857,000.00 864,520.00 
			 Enfield 822,000.00 822,650.00 
			 Essex 1,990,000.00 2,116,430.00 
			 Gateshead 470,000.00 496,699.00 
			 Gloucestershire 821,000.00 821,000.00 
			 Greenwich 1,211,000.00 1,211,000.00 
			 Hackney 1,954,000.00 1,955,166.00 
			 Halton 357,000.00 359,638.00 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,124,000.00 1,142,347.00 
			 Hampshire 1,687,000.00 2,042,846.49 
			 Haringey 1,572,000.00 1,582,662.00 
			 Harrow 485,000.00 486,752.00 
			 Hartlepool 234,000.00 235,458.00 
			 Havering 395,000.00 396,171.90 
			 Herefordshire 244,000.00 247,263.23 
			 Hertfordshire 1,674,000.00 1,676,854.00 
			 Hillingdon 605,000.00 646,175.00 
			 Hounslow 815,000.00 815,000.00 
			 Isle of Wight 241,000.00 244,593.00 
			 Isles of Scilly 14,000.00 34,838.00 
			 Islington 1,648,000.00 1,647,993.00 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 916,000.00 916,000.00 
			 Kent 2,302,000.00 2,764,100.00 
			 Kingston upon Hull 795,000.00 796,810.00 
			 Kingston upon Thames 277,000.00 277,000.00 
			 Kirklees 861,000.00 901,324.26 
			 Knowsley 669,000.00 699,825.00 
			 Lambeth 2,525,000.00 2,601,897.00 
			 Lancashire 2,167,000.00 2,642,885.00 
			 Leeds 1,661,000.00 1,679,286.00 
			 Leicester City 1,082,000.00 1,082,000.00 
			 Leicestershire 646,000.00 710,468.00 
			 Lewisham 1,768,000.00 1,768,000.00 
			 Lincolnshire 890,000.00 930,627.00 
			 Liverpool 1,834,000.00 1,914,036.00 
			 Luton 561,000.00 567,250.00 
			 Manchester 2,221,000.00 2,221,000.00 
			 Medway 470,000.00 470,000.00 
			 Merton 512,000.00 502,405.00 
			 Middlesbrough 495,000.00 502,598.00 
			 Milton Keynes 457,000.00 456,173.42 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 854,000.00 996,393.06 
			 Newham 1,701,000.00 1,843,266.00 
			 Norfolk 1,149,000.00 1,180,423.57 
			 North East Lincolnshire 356,000.00 355,976.00 
			 North Lincolnshire 250,000.00 251,764.09 
			 North Somerset 238,000.00 238,981.00 
			 North Tyneside 443,000.00 443,000.00 
			 North Yorkshire 700,000.00 707,999.00 
			 Northamptonshire 1,035,000.00 1,035,000.00 
			 Northumberland 467,000.00 467,220.00 
			 Nottingham 1,108,000.00 1,108,000.00 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,128,000.00 2,901,208.00 
			 Oldham 588,000.00 601,020.00 
			 Oxfordshire 925,000.00 939,298.21 
			 Peterborough 387,000.00 388,193.00 
			 Plymouth 694,179.00 694,179.00 
			 Poole 218,000.00 218,000.00 
			 Portsmouth 544,000.00 592,575.00 
			 Reading 403,000.00 417,917.00 
			 Redbridge 593,000.00 758,776.00 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 346,000.00 346,247.50 
			 Richmond upon Thames 319,000.00 319,838.00 
			 Rochdale 589,000.00 588,976.00 
			 Rotherham 512,000.00 512,294.00 
			 Rutland 45,000.00 45,723.00 
			 Salford 669,000.00 680,518.00 
			 Sandwell 849,000.00 849,000.00 
			 Sefton 654,000.00 670,780.00 
			 Sheffield 1,207,000.00 1,225,668.00 
			 Shropshire 328,000.00 333,060.00 
			 Slough 389,000.00 389,000.00 
			 Solihull 350,000.00 347,096.00 
			 Somerset 688,000.00 759,562.00 
			 South Gloucestershire 278,000.00 303,963.00 
			 South Tyneside 435,000.00 435,000.00 
			 Southampton 651,000.00 663,079.00 
			 Southend-on-Sea 411,000.00 412,465.00 
			 Southwark 2,025,000.00 2,066,349.00 
			 St. Helens 369,000.00 391,049.00 
			 Staffordshire 1,059,000.00 1,189,904.00 
			 Stockport 467,000.00 524,336.00 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 423,000.00 469,565.00 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 555,000.00 560,646.83 
			 Suffolk 951,000.00 961,689.00 
			 Sunderland 779,000.00 862,870.00 
			 Surrey 1,358,000.00 1,371,619.00 
			 Sutton 392,000.00 392,000.00 
			 Swindon 319,045.00 374,704.00 
			 Tameside 498,000.00 602,510.00 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 329,000.00 329,023.00 
			 Thurrock 309,000.00 307,426.09 
			 Torbay 278,000.00 282,249.00 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,633,000.00 1,631,601.00 
			 Trafford 455,000.00 473,152.00 
			 Wakefield 581,000.00 581,304.00 
			 Walsall 726,000.00 734,203.00 
			 Waltham Forest 1,056,000.00 1,093,252.00 
			 Wandsworth 1,374,000.00 1,783,815.00 
			 Warrington 306,000.00 377,608.84 
			 Warwickshire 669,000.00 727,910.00 
			 West Berkshire 176,000.00 176,003.00 
			 West Sussex 1,062,000.00 1,501,822.00 
			 Westminster 1,234,000.00 1,237,813.00 
			 Wigan 566,000.00 612,741.00 
			 Wiltshire 564,000.00 610,375.00 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 193,000.00 209,907.00 
			 Wirral 858,000.00 857,313.67 
			 Wokingham 133,000.00 137,081.00 
			 Wolverhampton 737,000.00 845,092.00 
			 Worcestershire 779,000.00 779,000.00 
			 York 261,000.00 267,779.00 
		
	
	
		Quality Protects—2001–02 -- £
		
			  Grant allocation 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,632,988.00 
			 Barnet 2,057,315.00 
			 Barnsley 1,142,954.00 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 593,912.00 
			 Bedfordshire 1,430,673.00 
			 Bexley 1,198,185.00 
			 Birmingham 9,655,311.00 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,065,518.00 
			 Blackpool 978,614.00 
			 Bolton 1,535,893.00 
			 Bournemouth 904,237.00 
			 Bracknell Forest 455,457.00 
			 Bradford 3,363,661.00 
			 Brent 3,430,645.00 
			 Brighton and Hove 1,677,490.00 
			 Bristol 2,777,929.00 
			 Bromley 1,470,905.00 
			 Buckinghamshire 1,502,091.00 
			 Bury 907,997.00 
			 Calderdale 1,025,748.00 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,761,439.00 
			 Camden 3,356,252.00 
			 Cheshire 2,304,651.00 
			 City of London 82,563.00 
			 Cornwall 1,917,024.00 
			 Coventry 2,069,504.00 
			 Croydon 2,767,307.00 
			 Cumbria 1,781,595.00 
			 Darlington 514,503.00 
			 Derby 1,521,252.00 
			 Derbyshire 2,475,919.00 
			 Devon 2,470,550.00 
			 Doncaster 1,566,459.00 
			 Dorset 1,190,383.00 
			 Dudley 1,295,132.00 
			 Durham 2,426,324.00 
			 Ealing 3,215,189.00 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 863,087.00 
			 East Sussex 2,169,433.00 
			 Enfield 2,087,477.00 
			 Essex 5,023,904.00 
			 Gateshead 1,226,995.00 
			 Gloucestershire 2,043,753.00 
			 Greenwich 3,017,843.00 
			 Hackney 4,503,350.00 
			 Halton 889,886.00 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2,864,562.00 
			 Hampshire 4,180,823.00 
			 Haringey 3,705,070.00 
			 Harrow 1,156,863.00 
			 Hartlepool 580,453.00 
			 Havering 1,008,188.00 
			 Herefordshire 605,137.00 
			 Hertfordshire 4,090,242.00 
			 Hillingdon 1,609,311.00 
			 Hounslow 1,943,464.00 
			 Isle of Wight 631,612.00 
			 Isles of Scilly 16,703.00 
			 Islington 3,992,342.00 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2,379,035.00 
			 Kent 5,974,305.00 
			 Kingston upon Hull 1,980,321.00 
			 Kingston upon Thames 763,996.00 
			 Kirklees 2,061,623.00 
			 Knowsley 1,664,574.00 
			 Lambeth 6,005,303.00 
			 Lancashire 5,433,080.00 
			 Leeds 4,152,471.00 
			 Leicester City 2,475,945.00 
			 Leicestershire 1,605,199.00 
			 Lewisham 4,196,109.00 
			 Lincolnshire 2,162,767.00 
			 Liverpool 4,573,026.00 
			 Luton 1,356,539.00 
			 Manchester 5,280,917.00 
			 Medway 1,221,478.00 
			 Merton 1,293,921.00 
			 Middlesbrough 1,190,012.00 
			 Milton Keynes 1,178,019.00 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 2,154,096.00 
			 Newham 3,931,866.00 
			 Norfolk 2,924,401.00 
			 North East Lincolnshire 902,525.00 
			 North Lincolnshire 644,589.00 
			 North Somerset 611,398.00 
			 North Tyneside 1,163,286.00 
			 North Yorkshire 1,702,211.00 
			 Northamptonshire 2,624,204.00 
			 Northumberland 1,232,552.00 
			 Nottingham 2,657,610.00 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,768,099.00 
			 Oldham 1,479,374.00 
			 Oxfordshire 2,225,509.00 
			 Peterborough 997,387.00 
			 Plymouth 1,679,210.00 
			 Poole 574,483.00 
			 Portsmouth 1,342,536.00 
			 Reading 980,588.00 
			 Redbridge 1,427,212.00 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 833,365.00 
			 Richmond upon Thames 799,982.00 
			 Rochdale 1,450,451.00 
			 Rotherham 1,315,989.00 
			 Rutland 93,367.00 
			 Salford 1,721,616.00 
			 Sandwell 2,117,629.00 
			 Sefton 1,629,565.00 
			 Sheffield 2,998,839.00 
			 Shropshire 805,546.00 
			 Slough 945,849.00 
			 Solihull 905,895.00 
			 Somerset 1,721,509.00 
			 South Gloucestershire 738,464.00 
			 South Tyneside 1,130,676.00 
			 Southampton 1,598,346.00 
			 Southend-on-Sea 1,098,103.00 
			 Southwark 5,071,690.00 
			 St. Helens 968,376.00 
			 Staffordshire 2,680,547.00 
			 Stockport 1,206,047.00 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 1,048,730.00 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 1,501,346.00 
			 Suffolk 2,318,876.00 
			 Sunderland 1,924,230.00 
			 Surrey 3,409,520.00 
			 Sutton 978,215.00 
			 Swindon 826,353.00 
			 Tameside 1,253,245.00 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 836,362.00 
			 Thurrock 812,839.00 
			 Torbay 740,053.00 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,937,273.00 
			 Trafford 1,085,639.00 
			 Wakefield 1,564,260.00 
			 Walsall 1,710,437.00 
			 Waltham Forest 2,548,677.00 
			 Wandsworth 3,354,460.00 
			 Warrington 766,475.00 
			 Warwickshire 1,699,102.00 
			 West Berkshire 412,229.00 
			 West Sussex 2,681,810.00 
			 Westminster 3,201,093.00 
			 Wigan 1,437,294.00 
			 Wiltshire 1,394,412.00 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 494,625.00 
			 Wirral 2,141,008.00 
			 Wokingham 332,082.00 
			 Wolverhampton 1,815,910.00 
			 Worcestershire 1,975,395.00 
			 York 630,353.00 
		
	
	Note:
	The figures for expenditure for each local authority for the years 1998–99 and 1999–2000 are wholly based on audit forms provided by the authority's chief finance officer and an auditor appointed by the Audit Commission. The figures for 2000–01 include a small number of figures from pre-audit certificates and may therefore be subject to change.

Quality Protects

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what arrangements (a) his Department and (b) local authorities have made to publicise the reporting and referral system established in line with the quality protects programme under LAC(98)28 and subsequent circulars;
	(2)  how many local authorities (a) have full compliant policies and procedures, (b) have draft policies and procedures and (c) are not compliant with the protection of children guidance, quality protects programme under LAC(98)28 and subsequent circulars.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 4 March 2002
	Local Authority Circular (98)28 gave councils and their partners details of the quality protects programme. It explained that the Department would be publishing further guidance covering issues such as reporting and referral systems and child protection procedures.
	The Department published the "Framework for Assessment of Children in Need and their Families" in April 2000. It has undertaken an extensive programme of dissemination at local, regional and national levels. The quality protects regional development workers have played a key role in ensuring agencies know about and are implementing the assessment framework. The Department has worked with local councils and consulted software suppliers to develop and publish "Core Information Requirements" for children's social services to help improve councils' capability in managing information.
	The Department held a series of regional roadshows in the autumn of 1999 on the final draft version of the "Working Together to Safeguard Children" guidance, following which 100,000 copies of the revised guidance were distributed to child protection professionals through the area child protection committee network. The social services inspectorate is currently participating, together with other statutory inspectorates, in a series of themed inspections looking at the effectiveness of safeguards for children across all relevant statutory agencies.
	Developments and best practice under quality protects are publicised in a number of ways, including the quality protects newsletter and website www.doh.gov.uk/ qualityprotects.
	Local authorities' progress in implementing quality protects is monitored through a number of mechanisms, including inspections, position statements and annual management action plans. In their autumn position statements, 83 per cent. of councils stated that they had implemented the assessment framework by 30 September 2001. A further 13 per cent. expect to have done so by 1 April 2002 at the latest. The remaining six authorities expect to implement during 2002–03.
	Local authorities submitted their fourth quality protects management action plans in January 2002. These set out their progress in and plans for delivering the quality protects programme. The social services inspectorate is currently assessing these plans. We will be publishing an overview report of the plans and their evaluation later in the year. Copies of the national overview reports for the previous three years' management action plans are available in the Library.

Strategic Health Authorities

David Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been issued concerning public consultation over the proposed locations of the headquarters of the new strategic health authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 4 March 2002
	The location of new health authority headquarters is regarded as a matter for the chairman (designate) and chief executive (designate) of those authorities to determine. As part of the consultation on health authority boundaries held last autumn, the Department advised that option appraisals should be conducted for appropriate national health service and Government Office for the regions accommodation available within the area. Decisions will have been made in the light of these appraisals.

Community Health Councils

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 8 February 2002, Official Report, column 1238W, on community health councils, if he will list the CHCs in England which submitted representations supporting their abolition.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 4 March 2002
	The listening exercise did not ask stakeholders whether community health councils should be abolished. The information requested is not available centrally.

Free Nursing Care

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people who were receiving nursing care on 1 October 2001 are waiting to be assessed for free nursing care;
	(2)  what the average time for an individual to be assessed for free nursing care has been in the last three years;
	(3)  how many people were receiving nursing care on 1 October 2001.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 5 March 2002
	The likely number of those self funders eligible for national health service funded nursing care at any one time is based on the results of a survey carried out in June 2001. The total number of self funders identified through the survey was 42,700.
	At 31 December 2001 around 80 per cent. of determinations had been competed. Around 95 per cent. had been completed by the end of February. These figures would include those in a home on 1 October 2001, when NHS funded care was introduced, as well as those who had entered a home after that date.
	Determinations for NHS funded nursing care were only introduced with effect from 1 October 2001.

Heart Services

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many purchasing health authorities regularly purchase heart services from (a) private providers and (b) the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst.

John Hutton: holding answer 5 March 2002
	The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department has recently conducted a survey of national health service bodies on the levels of activity being commissioned in the independent sector and the accompanying cost. Findings from the survey will be published shortly. The published results are likely to include details on the number of NHS organisations within the returning sample that commissioned specific heart procedures during the survey period. It is not our intention to publish information in respect of individual hospitals, since it was not collected for that purpose.

Heart Services

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the capacity is for tertiary heart surgery in the south-east region; and what the average waiting times were at each centre in the last 12 month period.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 5 March 2002
	Our aim is that in time the national health service should be able to offer all heart patients fair access to the surgical and other specialist services they need in a local unit and within an acceptable time. This is why we have developed a national strategy to expand the capacity to perform heart operations. The capital investment programme means that we are investing £230 million in 12 schemes to provide new and bigger heart surgery facilities.
	Currently, cardiac surgery is carried out in Brighton, Southampton and Oxford. Capacity is flexible as it depends on a number of factors, including availability of staff, Intensive Treatment Unit beds and hours of theatre usage. Approximately half of the tertiary cardiac procedures for South-east residents are carried out in London centres.
	Average waiting times, by month, for south-east centres over the last 12 months are shown in the table.
	
		Datayear 2000–01—Mean waiting time (days)—Revascualisations by operation type 
		
			 CABG RGU Brighton health care NHS Trust(25) RHM Southampton University hospital RTH Oxford Radcliffe hospital NHS 
		
		
			  Month of admission  
			 April 60 319 157 
			 May 63 292 102 
			 June 96 282 152 
			 July 112 258 163 
			 August 101 221 131 
			 September 128 282 113 
			 October 143 205 113 
			 November 91 147 161 
			 December 82 177 123 
			 January 126 219 146 
			 February 118 156 141 
			 March 140 171 241 
		
	
	(25) Activity was building up from April 2000
	Source:
	HES

Television Sets

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) analogue and (b) integrated digital television sets his Department has purchased in each of the last 24 months; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Department does not record centrally or separately the numbers of televisions, analogue or integrated digital, that it purchases for use within the Department. Specific guidance on the purchase of televisions is not published or disseminated to officials, but buyers are required to follow normal departmental procurement guidance and procedures whenever purchasing such goods.

Capita

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts the Department has with Capita; and how much they are worth.

Hazel Blears: Since April 2001, five separate business areas within the Department have commissioned work from Capita Business Services and Capita SHG Resourcing, to a total value of £271,700.